In December 2020, the members of the Irish Writers Group read and discussed books by the Irish author John Banville. William John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945, the youngest of three siblings. He was educated at Christian Brothers schools and St Peter’s College, Wexford. After college John worked as a clerk for Ireland’s national airline, Aer Lingus, before joining The Irish Press as a sub-editor in 1969. Continuing with journalism for over thirty years, John was Literary Editor at The Irish Times from 1988 to 1999. He lives in Dublin. His own webpage http://john-banville.com/ gives further details of his life, works and awards.
The books we had collectively read were:
The Snow (2020) Review: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-snow-john-banville-3003547
Mrs Osmond (2017) Review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/14/mrs-osmond-john-banville-review
Ancient Light (2012) Reading by the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq-oMYIS44o
The Infinites (2009) Reading guide: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/8361/the-infinities-by-john-banville/9780307474391/readers-guide/
The Sea (2005) This book won the Booker prize. Reviews:
https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/the-sea/
Shroud (2002) Review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/oct/05/fiction.johnbanville
The Untouchables (1997) Review: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/in-praise-of-older-books-the-untouchable-by-john-banville-1997-1.3381031
Ghosts (1993) review: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n08/valentine-cunningham/a-whole-lot-of-faking
Dr Copernicus (1976) Review: https://theidlewoman.net/2013/04/07/dr-copernicus-john-banville/
Prague Nights (2018) (under the pen name of Benjamin Black) was also discussed.
Review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/07/prague-nights-by-benjamin-black-review.
Some of the above books are a part of three trilogies written by Banville: the first, The Revolutions Trilogy, focused on great men of science and consisted of Doctor Copernicus (1976), Kepler (1981), and The Newton Letter (1982).
The second trilogy, sometimes referred to collectively as The Frames Trilogy, consists of The Book of Evidence (1989), with several of its characters being featured in Ghosts (1993); Athena (1995)
The third trilogy consists of Eclipse, Shroud and Ancient Light.
Under the pen mane of Benjamin Black, Banville has a written crime fiction series about a Dublin pathologist in the 1950s: Christine Falls (2006), The Silver Swan (2007), Elegy for April (2010), A Death in Summer (2011), Vengeance (2012), Holy Orders (2013), and Even the Dead (2015). The TV series ‘Quirke’ was based on three of these books and can be watched at: https://www.amazon.com/Quirke/dp/B074JTQWN4
Like many of the Irish writers we have explored this year, the themes in his books are grim and gloomy, focusing on, among others, God and gods, grief and redemption, child abuse, suicide and the worst of humanity. In 2005, Banville wrote an article on how life has changed for the better in Ireland: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/oct/29/fiction.johnbanville
We all agreed the language John Banville uses in his books is memorable. Some comments were that a dictionary was needed when reading his work as he coins new phrases; Banville has a great mastery of language; and a lovely way with words. This was alongside comments about his long-winded, contrived and obtuse sentences – ‘it takes a long time to get to a full stop’, the endings are sometimes ambiguous, and ‘his writing requires more attention to think about his meanings as you read along- it is not a light lunch’. Reviewers also comment on this aspect of Banville’s work:
‘Banville is the sort of writer… who wants to nail down every fleeting moment and sensation with some strenuously unprecedented combination of words: the “slurred clamor” of a startled heartbeat, the “humid conspiracy” of a grandmother, the “lumpy wodge of stirabout” that is cereal left too long in its bowl of milk. He will tell you how every room smells, and is forever pausing to liken a character’s gestures or stance to a scratching cat or the queen of diamonds or a mummified pharaoh. The high quality of these flourishes doesn’t entirely justify their sheer volume as they assail the reader. New York Times newspaper
But this aspect of his writing is also seen as a strength as in these comments:
‘This is a novel [Snow] which demands and deserves to be read slowly, with close attention. It had me doing what I rarely have time or indeed inclination to do with a book that comes for review: to go back to the beginning and read it again with an even deeper pleasure and admiration’ The Scotsman newspaper.
‘Banville is not an easy writer, although Shroud certainly demonstrates his ability to generate extreme tension and utterly uncanny atmospheres; it also situates him firmly within a great European tradition. Unluckily for his bank balance, this is the kind of complex, intellectually challenging writing that is too easily dismissed – in Booker speak – as “pompous, pretentious and portentous”. Luckily for us, he doesn’t seem to be listening.’ The Guardian newspaper
Have a read and see what you think!