Read for Irish Writers – a joint hybrid meeting with a similar group in Castlebar, County Mayo, which was delightful. Very good but alas I’m blogging this three years later (the quotes were marked in an old Nook and I thought they were lost!) so I don’t remember much, except that it was very dark and realistic. Also the novel has many Plymouth Brethren (the sect into which my dad was born), so that was of interest to me.
- “[Christ] had not forgiven, because she could not forgive herself”
- “‘It is always a woman’s fault, ma’am'” – but Waters shows that not to be true
- “Esther looked at the poor wizened features [of the infant], twitched with pain, and the far-off cry of doom, a tiny tinkle from the verge, shivered in the ear with a strange pathos.”
- “religion is easy enough at times, but there is other times when it don’t seem to fit in with one’s duty”
So the flood of gold continued to roll into the little town, decrepit and colourless by its high shingle beach and long reaches of muddy river. The dear gold jingled merrily in the pockets, quickening the steps, lightening the heart, curling lips with smiles, opening lips with laughter. The dear gold came falling softly, sweetly as rain, soothing the hard lives of working folk. Lives pressed with toil lifted up and began to dream again. The dear gold was like an opiate; it wiped away memories of hardship and sorrow, it showed life in a lighter and merrier guise, and the folk laughed at their fears for the morrow and wondered how they could have thought life so hard and relentless. The dear gold was pleasing as a bird on the branch, as a flower on the stem; the tune it sang was sweet, the colour it flaunted was bright.