The Derry of poet Seamus Deane's first novel, Reading in the Dark is a perilous place. Ghosts haunt the stairwells of apartment buildings, a curse follows two families down through the generations, close friends turn out to be police informers and the police are as likely to persecute an innocent man as protect him. And hovering over all the violence, poverty and despair of 1940s Northern Ireland is the spectre of the "Troubles". The hero of the novel is an unnamed young man whose life turns upside down when a policeman frames him. Deception becomes his only means of self-defence. But the initial lie on the part of the policeman and the narrator's corresponding trickery are only part of the tangled web Deane weaves here. Early in the novel we learn that Uncle Eddie, an Irish Republican Army gunman, was blown up in the town distillery in 1922. In addition to sorting out his own problems, the narrator seeks the truth about his uncle's death.
Reading in the Dark sounds grim, and in some respects it is, yet leavening is provided by infusions of the Irish folktales and legends that inform the characters' daily life. And then there is the language. Deane is a poet, and his prose shows it: sex is like fire, "glinting with greed and danger"; ice snores and candles are swathed in a "thick drapery of wax". Readers looking for a thoughtful, serious and beautifully written novel will find one in Reading in the Dark.
Reading in the Dark sounds grim, and in some respects it is, yet leavening is provided by infusions of the Irish folktales and legends that inform the characters' daily life. And then there is the language. Deane is a poet, and his prose shows it: sex is like fire, "glinting with greed and danger"; ice snores and candles are swathed in a "thick drapery of wax". Readers looking for a thoughtful, serious and beautifully written novel will find one in Reading in the Dark.
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Used availability for Seamus Deane's Reading in the Dark
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Hardback Editions
June 1999 : Hardback
| Title: Reading in Dark Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-517-41311-6 / 978-0-517-41311-1 (USA edition) Publisher: Random House Value Publishing Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
April 1997 : Hardback
| Title: Reading in the Dark: a novel Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-394-57440-0 / 978-0-394-57440-0 (USA edition) Publisher: Knopf Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
September 1996 : Hardback
| Title: Reading in the Dark Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-224-04405-2 / 978-0-224-04405-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Jonathan Cape Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
February 1998 : Paperback
| Title: Reading in the Dark: A Novel Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-375-70023-4 / 978-0-375-70023-1 (USA edition) Publisher: Vintage Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
April 1997 : Paperback
| Title: Reading i the Dark Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-09-974441-4 / 978-0-09-974441-2 (UK edition) Publisher: Vintage Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
April 1996 : Paperback
| Title: Reading in the Dark (Proof Copy) Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-224-04773-6 / 978-0-224-04773-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Jonathan Cape Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback
| Title: Reading in the Dark Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-14-014014-X / 978-0-14-014014-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Books Australia Ltd. Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Audio Editions
August 2001 : Audio CD
| Title: Reading in the Dark: Complete & Unabridged Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-7540-5445-4 / 978-0-7540-5445-0 (UK edition) Publisher: Chivers Audio Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
1999 : Audio Cassette
| Title: Reading in the Dark Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-7887-2934-9 / 978-0-7887-2934-8 (USA edition) Publisher: recorded books Availability: Amazon More details... |
November 1997 : Audio Cassette
| Title: Reading in the Dark: Complete & Unabridged Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 0-7540-0080-X / 978-0-7540-0080-8 (UK edition) Publisher: Chivers Word for Word Audio Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
March 1997 : Audio Cassette
| Title: Reading in the Dark Author(s): Seamus Deane ISBN: 1-86021-842-3 / 9781860218422 (UK edition) Publisher: Random House Audiobooks Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
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