Description

Understanding John McGahern surveys the life and work of the successful Irish novelist and short story writer whose career was launched with the 1963 publication of The Barracks. Most widely known for the 1998 film adaptation of Amongst Women, McGahern (1934-2006) has been enthusiastically received internationally and particularly in France, where some of the best and most extensive scholarship on his work has taken place. In this introduction to the writer and his body of work, David Malcolm identifies McGahern's primary concerns and assesses his popularity beyond the shores of Ireland. Although McGahern has long been categorized as a writer who specializes in the despair afflicting the Irish, Malcolm takes a broader view, showing how the novelist writes about individual fates that resonate with universal existential concerns.