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Title: Cal by Bernard MacLaverty ISBN: 0-393-31332-8 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.15 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Simple but elegant.....
Comment: I've had this book on my shelves for almost fifteen years, if you can believe it, but never got around to reading it until this week. Now I can't figure out why it took me so long to open it.
"Cal" describes the "troubles" in Northern Ireland in a simple yet elegant manner, with a bare minimum of explicit violence and gore. Most of the violence is implied - the two exceptions being the story of how Marcella Morton became a widow, and what at first glance seems to be a rather pointless episode concerning a land mine and a cow. It seemed pointless, that is, until you read further and discovered exactly how the land mine came to be there.
While the violence is at a minimum, the thoughts, feelings, and philosophies of each side are explored quite thoroughly for such a small book. And while I personally found both points of view quite repellent, I will say that I believed that the characters in this book had these beliefs, and that they were extremely passionate regarding them.
The book is also an interesting psychological study, at least as far as Cal McCluskey (the main character) is concerned. With the help of Marcella, the woman he comes to love, it seems that he is growing up, and coming to realize that there's a lot more out in the world than just Catholics & Protestants fighting and killing each other - but his past will ultimately work against him and nullify all the good that Marcella has done for him - because he was the driver of the car containing the man that killed her husband.
A touching, sad, and very important book.
Rating: 3
Summary: The story about a young man in Northern Ireland
Comment: I confess I didn't know very much about the conflict in Northern Ireland a few weeks ago. "The Catholics built the I.R.A. to drive away the Protestants and to unite Northern Ireland with the catholic Republic of Ireland." That's virtually all I could say about the difficulties in that region of the world. Then, at school, I got this book. I considered it as my chance to learn more about Irish people, their culture and to get a more detailed answer to the question why there was so much blood-shedding in the last decades. Let me tell you if this book gave me the answers I wanted to obtain.
I was quite intrigued by the story of "Cal". An unemployed young Irish Catholic, who has a strong connection to the I.R.A. and who wants to leave it because he doesn't have the guts to commit crimes in the name of an illusion called United Ireland, falls in love with a widow named Marcella. Cal knows from the first moment he saw her that he helped making her a widow, and he realizes that their relationship can't possibly work out for a long time. It was quite interesting to see Cal's change from a depressive youth to a man who is able to take the responsibility for his deeds. He constantly fights against his past and, at the end, although he suffers to relieve himself from his sins, he loses everything. The reader can really identify himself with Cal and understand his behavior. In this point, the author did something you will not find everywhere. But unfortunately he made some mistakes as well...
The novel is called "Cal". The title alone shows the reader that the story is completely fixed on the young man. Apart from Marcella who was discribed in as many dimensions as Cal, all other "dramatis personae" seemed to be parts of the stage and had no life in them. The majority of them was characterized in a very shallow way, and they had the only function to show us in a too simple way the life and the problems of Northern Ireland. Crilly and Skeffington, the terrorists, particularly disappointed me. They were the shallowest and the most cliche-like of all of those background people. I expected more of them because they played such an important role in the story.
Another disappointment was the ending of "Cal". Reading it, I got the strong feeling that the author became bored by his work and wanted to finish it at all costs. The ending was constructed too obviously and appeared unbelievable compared to the rest of the novel.
There are many symbols and metaphors inside "Cal". Both make the book a bigger challenge to understand. What I missed was a trial to explain the conflict and controversial possibilities to solve it. MacLaverty seems to see the happenings in a rather pessimistic way without any thoughts concerning their origins. If something of this kind was there, it seemed to be quite vague and too simplified.
"Cal" is certainly worth reading. Even though there may be a few flaws, the majority of the novel is OK. To be clear: it's written by an Irishman for Irishmen; nevertheless every reader will understand and and hopefully enjoy it. I, for my part, did the last, and additionally I got all answers about Ireland I was looking for.
Rating: 4
Summary: Cal, a highly recommended book. READ IT!!
Comment: First of all, we used about one month reading it. It was a part of this years curriculum. "Cal" consists of a very heavy English language, so if your vocabulary is small, we're not sure if we would recommend it.
But the contents itself were really interesting, surprising and you'll get so involved that you can't lay the book down. You'll become a "readaholic."
The plot involves in Ireland in the late 70's. Cal is the main character, with Marcella, Shamie, Crilly, Skeffington, the Mortons and Dunlop as the other characters.
Cal is a boy in his early twenty's. He lives with his father, Shamie, in a house in a nameless town. The problem is that Cal and his father is Catholics, a hated religion in the protestant town.
Cal gets beaten up and "hanged out" because of his religion.
Cal's "friends," Crilly and Skeffington makes money in a criminal way. They also take part in the I.R.A (Irish Republican Army). Cal hears the name "Marcella somewhere, and remembers something about it. (This is the part when you're supposed to get the picture the things that has happened, some kind of turning point really) He cant remember what, but he is pretty sure that it wasn't a nice thing. He keeps meeting her, and soon remembers what he did......??? We wont tell what.
He eventually starts to work for Marcella's mother in law, and they develop their relationship.
In a few words; Cal is a book full of tension, sex, violence and other cool stuff. And you'll get an insight into the circumstances in Northern Ireland. You cant really imagine the violence and hate that the people had and still have to live with.
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