In the Forest

by Edna O'Brien | Children's Books | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: Global Overview for this book
Registered by k00kaburra of San Jose, California USA on 5/31/2008
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by k00kaburra from San Jose, California USA on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Rec'd via Bookmooch.com.

From a series of books by Irish Women Writers.

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Amazon.com
In the best of Edna O'Brien's novels, there is a lawless element, a violence, that springs up to satisfy some primal urge: revenge, desire, thwarted love, or even the seemingly contrasting need of a community for balance and order. In the Forest is based on a true story of a local terror, a murderer sprung from the fertile soil of the west Ireland countryside. Michen O'Kane is a loving boy gone bad. His father beat his mother, and his mother died young, leaving 10-year-old Michen to the indifferent care of relatives and teachers. A rich fantasy life and little outside guidance quickly lead to a detention center, where Michen is the prey of bullies, as well as of a kindly priest with an unfortunate use for small boys. But none of these factors fully explains Michen's transformation into a killer. It is one of the strengths of this difficult and beautifully written novel that the lyrical fragments of Michen's tale--told from various points of view--do not completely add up. The dark mysteries of psychosis are left intact. We have only evocative glimpses of Michen's inner world and a crystal-clear image of the ruin he left behind. --Regina Marler

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