Several months ago, I smiled happily when John and Joe placed an advanced reader’s copy of Joseph O’Connor’s new masterpiece Ghost Light in my hands. In the fall of 2007, I had been one of the lucky ones to hear the Irish author read from his novel Redemption Falls. Those of us who were at the reading will never forget the mesmerizing and beautiful reading, which probably lasted for at least an hour, which is a very unusual and longer length of time than most of our authors read.
As I recall, John and the rest of us begged O’Connor to keep reading, for his melodious voice captivated us all as he read his own words exactly as he had intended with an author’s perfect expertise and dedication. So, it probably goes without saying that I had been eagerly awaiting publication of another novel by the author.
John M. Synge (1871-1909)
Ghost Light, set in and around Dublin and London, in the early 1900s and mid 1950s, respectively, will capture the heart of even the romantically challenged, as O’Connor slowly and beautifully winds out a masterfully created story of the historically renowned aristocratic Irish playwright John Synge and his much younger, common society love interest Molly.
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“Drawing of Molly Allgood (Maire O’Neill) by Ben Bay, in the title role of Deirdre of the Sorrows by J.M. Synge, circa 1910. From the collection of the National Library of Ireland.”
As the years go by, Molly believes that Synge will one day marry her, even though his mother haunts and persuasively directs his every move. The heart wrenching story, told by the feisty young actress, often employs the second person “you”, rarely used by many authors due to its challenge.
Told through a series of flashbacks, O’Connor allows the reader to view the actress throughout her lifetime with its tumultuous ups and downs as she yearns to be forever with Synge instead of only in hidden trysts nestled in the countryside. The Dublin and London settings superbly anchor the story and give the reader a perfected view of the two time periods. Add to this enticing mix a play director by the name of the famous poet William Butler Yeats, and the story gains even more intrigue. O’Connor’s superb character development ranks at the very top in this novel.
Synge wrote the controversial play The Playboy of the Western World which ignited riots in Ireland and the U.S. Playboy is now considered a western classic.
In addition, it was hard for me not to compare this brilliantly written fiction with the “other” Irish author James Joyce, for the writing, to me, often migrating into stream of consciousness, reminded me of some scenes in Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners. At any rate, I was glad to revisit Dublin for sure.
One more thing . . . of particular interest to me was the author’s note, labeled “Acknowledgments and Caveat”, which appears at the end of this short novel, in which he tells of his childhood home in Dublin and his acquaintance with the old house where the playwright John Synge lived. O’Connor states:
“Ghost Light is a work of fiction, frequently taking immense liberties with fact. The experience and personalities of the real Molly and Synge differed from those of my characters in uncountable ways. Chronologies, geographies and portrayals appearing in this novel are not to be relied upon by the researcher.”
Somehow, reading this note at the end made the novel even more fascinating to me. I always like to try to figure out what is in the mind of the creator writer as I read.
I’m sure I will learn more when we Lemurians go to our dot.com building late afternoon on Friday, February 18th at 5:30 (signing at 5:00), to hear O’Connor read from Ghost Light, a novel to be read slowly and savored carefully. This is not a reading to be missed and all are invited. You are in for a treat! Ghost Light has also been picked for our February First Editions Club book. -Nan
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