Swept away by Barry's Roseanne of the sorrows

This novel caused waves of emotion in our book club. In keeping with Sebastian Barry's maritime metaphors throughout the book, we were swept away. So weighted is The Secret Scripture in sadness, we felt we were drowning in its depths. The most treasured secret of all in the novel is wonderfully protected by a convoluted web of injustice, only being revealed in the final pages. Just when you feel you have been bashed off the rocks of despair and are unable to swallow any more of the sordid sediment of the past, the final revelation hits you like a tsunami. The story of Roseanne, an old woman who has spent her life in a mental hospital even though she is perfectly sane, and of the people who destroyed her life, is told in wonderful descriptive writing. Roseanne's story is captivating and tragic. The beauty and warmth of her... [read full story]