Sebastian Barry's Days Without End

Sebastian Barry's 'Days Without End' tells the story of Thomas McNulty, a young Irishman who emigrated to Canada and later the United States in the mid-nineteenth century after his family died in the Great Famine. When they are teenagers, he befriends and falls in love with John Cole, and they work at a parlor where they dress as women and dance for miners. They later enlist in the US army and fight in two wars before adopting an abandoned Indian Sioux girl named Winona.

Sebastian Barry is a new author to me, and I didn't realize until after I finished 'Days Without End' that his previous novels, two of which have been nominated for the Man Booker Prize, also feature other McNulty family members from different generations. Despite the fact that the books are interconnected rather than a series, 'Days Without End' reads well as a separate novel. It is a lyrical western, as opposed to the more typically harsh works of the genre.

The landscape is beautifully described, as is the context of the 1850s gold rush and Indian wars, which led to the Civil War a decade later. Despite enduring a series of near-fatal experiences alongside John, including starvation, the brutal horrors of war, and extreme weather conditions, Thomas' stream-of-consciousness remains understated throughout, demonstrating a superhuman level of resilience throughout.

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The romantic side of Thomas and John's relationship is rarely acknowledged, and when it is, it is dealt with matter-of-factly, which contrasts with the chaos of their surroundings. However, I believe the confusion kept me from connecting with the characters, and John, in particular, remains a mystery despite supposedly being at the center of the story. This surprised me, but it appears to be Barry's intention, as Thomas says of John near the end: "I don't even truly know his nature." I enjoy the fact that he is always a stranger."

'Days Without End' has already won other awards, including the Costa Book of the Year, and stands a good chance of being longlisted for the Man Booker Prize later this month based solely on the quality of the prose. It's not a novel I fell in love with, but I can see why it's so popular with readers, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.









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