When they came into their trench he felt small enough. The biggest thing there was the roaring of Death and the smallest thing was a man. Bombs not so far off distressed the earth of Belgium, disgorged great heaps of it, and did everything except kill him immediately, as he half expected them to do.
(from A Long Long Way, page 24)
Sebastian Barry’s 2005 novel A Long Long Way centers on Willie Dunne, a young man from Dublin who is just 18 years old when he signs up to fight in World War I at its outbreak in 1914. The son of a policeman, Dunne could not follow in his father’s footsteps because he never grew to the required height of 6 feet, so he sets out to prove himself as a soldier. Before leaving for the trenches in Belgium, Willie meets Gretta and falls in love, but she refuses to marry him until he knows his own mind.
With Gretta, his father, and his three younger sisters never far from his mind, Willie goes off to war. He survives a poison gas attack — something the soldiers had never expected or ever witnessed — by running away, and he soon endures the pain of losing his comrades as hundreds and even thousands of men are wiped out in individual battles.
After enjoying a brief leave in 1916, Willie is on his way back to the front lines when a skirmish erupts in Dublin, and in the uniform of the English army, he is called upon to fight the rebels. At first, he thinks the Germans have invaded, but then he realizes the rebels are his fellow Irishmen. Confused about the politics in his own country and caught between the Great War and the struggle for Irish independence, Willie is not sure where his loyalties lie. He is fighting to save Europe, but his uniform ends up separating him from his fellow countrymen, and his sadness about the executions following the Easter Rising angers his father.
When I finished A Long Long Way, five words came to mind when I though about how to describe this novel: loyalties, confusion, innocence, horror, and loss. Willie certainly is innocent when he first goes off to fight, innocent about politics, war, and even women. He is confused about what’s going on in Ireland, and I can’t say I was any more enlightened than he was given that Barry writes as though the reader already has an understanding of the country’s history. Willie definitely witnesses the horror of combat and knows the emptiness of loss on the battlefield and in his personal life.
Barry creates intriguing secondary characters in Christy Moran, a foul-mouthed but likeable sergeant-major with whom Willie serves, Pete O’Hara, whose story about a Belgian nun is horrifying, and Father Buckley, who put himself in danger to minister to the dying and the dead. Barry also brilliantly describes the gas attacks, from the chaos to the fear. Willie was an endearing and sympathetic character, and I though Barry did a great job making him real in that no matter how many times he faced death, he nearly always peed himself in fear. Even the bravest soldiers are scared, and that comes through in this novel.
However, I wasn’t impressed with Barry’s writing style at the beginning. It took me about five or six chapters to really get involved in the story, and even then I’d come across some descriptions I found to be too much, such as “daybreak like a row of sparkling dinner-knives” (page 105). Moreover, I disliked the ending a great deal, as it felt like Barry backed himself into a corner, didn’t know how to get out, and saw fit to bayonet the unsuspecting reader.
Where A Long Long Way succeeds is in its portrayal of a divided Ireland and the tale of a young man not sure where he fits in. It’s a coming of age story of a soldier who outlives most of his comrades and is an old man by the time he turns 21. Barry doesn’t sugarcoat the hardships of the soldiers in the trenches or the brutal and tragic deaths that many men faced when they went over the top. Willie Dunne indeed travels “a long long way” both in the course of the war and on an internal path toward knowing his own mind. A Long Long Way is an interesting introduction to the battle for Irish independence and a chilling account of the trenches of World War I.
I read A Long Long Way for the Literature and War Readalong hosted by Beauty is a Sleeping Cat.
Disclosure: I borrowed A Long Long Way from my local library. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
[…] Anna (Diary of an Eccentric) […]
LikeLike
I see, you liked it more than me but we certainly agree on the style and the ending. I can’t say much here, I don’t want to spoil it for your readers but it felt so wrong.
The mustard gas attack was extremely well done. I have never read anything like this before. And I enjoyed the secondary characters too.
For me it was , all in all, a mixed bag. Some very good and some very bad elements combined. One thing however is certain, I will not forget it easily.
LikeLike
I felt cheated by the ending, but overall it was a decent book. I probably would have loved it had I understood the politics in Ireland at the time.
LikeLike
I enjoyed this and the over-the-top adjectives didn’t bother me as much. I liked it and really didn’t mind the ending. I really liked how real the mustard gas attacks felt.
LikeLike
Those scenes really showcased his talent as a writer, I’ll agree with you there. I didn’t really notice the writing style issues once I got invested in the story, which was hard because the politics of the time aren’t explained well.
LikeLike
It sounds like the book has a lot to offer but could have been edited a little better.
LikeLike
Maybe, but mostly I just wish that there had been more information about the politics behind the Irish fight for independence.
LikeLike
I’ve just started this book and it’s not one that grabs me and sucks me into the story…at least it hasn’t yet. Maybe it’s because of Barry’s writing style which you weren’t impressed by. Still, I’m interested to see where the story goes.
I’ll stop by again when I have finished this book and then read your review more thoroughly and compare ‘notes’.
LikeLike
I hope you finish it; it does get better, at least it did for me. Looking forward to your thoughts.
LikeLike
I’m not so sure this one will be for me but I might give it a try.
LikeLike
It’s definitely worth giving a try, especially if you’re interested in WWI and Ireland during that period.
LikeLike
Oh Too bad you did not like it as much as I did. I really enjoyed his style and the way he wrote. It made me think of the WWI poets
But then again I mostly read it cos of the raw reality he showed, war and back home
LikeLike
I haven’t read the WWI poets, but I will be soon. I did like it for the most part; I only have a couple of quibbles.
LikeLike
I have this one on my shelf. I started reading it and, like you, didn’t love the writing style at the beginning and put it down to find something a little easier for me. But maybe I’ll pick it up again as it seems like it is worth the effort. Also because I was recently in Ireland 🙂
LikeLike
I bet having traveled to Ireland will make for a better reading experience! Or if you know something about the politics. 😉
LikeLike
I absolutely love how you described that ending! Ha! I might just read it to see how he bayonets me!
LikeLike
I was hoping I was being clever, LOL. I’m such a dork, I know!
LikeLike
Have you ever read Johnny Got His Gun?? That was a great book but horrifying to read in regards to WWI and how devastating it was to the men. Not sure if this is one that I would read or not…..
LikeLike
No I haven’t read that one, but I’ll have to check it out for the challenge.
LikeLike
Like this story so much. The trait of innocence in Willie comes out very strongly.
LikeLike
Yes, he was an innocent soul, and I liked his character for that.
LikeLike
I had this book out from the library but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.. Hopefully soon!
LikeLike
I can’t wait to see what you think of it!
LikeLike
[…] Comments « Review: A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry […]
LikeLike
That daybreak quote IS a bit much. LOL.
LikeLike
Yes, but for the most part, I could ignore them. 🙂
LikeLike
I have wanted to read something by Sebastian Barry for a long time but this one might be too grim for me. Great review, though!
LikeLike
If you don’t like depressing books, you probably won’t want to read it. Not sure what else he’s written though.
LikeLike
I’m looking for a good WW1 book for the challenge but I don’t think this one is for me. Will have to check out your list.
LikeLike
Please do! Serena’s worked very hard to compile WWI possibilities. 🙂
LikeLike
[…] I wish I would have read The Yellow House before reading Sebastian Barry’s novel A Long Long Way because he just assumes the reader already knows what was brewing in Ireland at the time. Best of […]
LikeLike
[…] Ireland and the violence that ensued. (I probably would have enjoyed Sebastian Barry’s A Long Long Way more had I read this book first.) Even the love triangle was handled in such a way that, while […]
LikeLike
Barry’s book was a good read.But when it comes to books on WW1 one is inclined to compare them(perhaps unfairly so) to masterpieces such as “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Birdsong”.In my view these two remain un-surpassed.
LikeLike
Both of those are on my to-read list. Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
[…] Angel of Mercy by Mary Lydon Simonsen 3. The Beauty and the Sorrow by Peter Englund 4. A Long, Long Way by Sebastian Barry 5. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear 6. The Penguin Book of World War I […]
LikeLike
I’m going to enter a minority opinion here, and I’m sorry I’m late to do so, but I just joined this blog five minutes ago. I LOVED this book. I think it’s about my favorite historical novel about the First World War (though Helen Dunmore’s “The Lie” gives it a run for its money*). I’d put it above “Birdsong,” not least because Barry had the courage to keep the entire book in the period of the action, rather than divide the narrative into the present day and the past. I also loved Barry’s prose, which, to me, read like poetry in many spots. As for the ending, yes, well, it hurts, but anything else would have been a cop-out, I think. I finished the book a year ago, and I still think about the ending from time to time.
As for “All Quiet,” great as it is, I don’t consider it historical fiction, because it was contemporary when Remarque wrote it. All his readers would have remembered the war.
BTW, I like your site. Keep it coming.
*In case you’re interested, I review “The Lie” on my blog, novelhistorian.com.
LikeLike
What is the plot of the novel? Please help.
LikeLike
I’m sure you could Google and find out. 😉
LikeLike