I've mentioned before how one of the joys of working in a library is the thrill of random discovery among rows and rows of books. A few weeks ago, I was grabbing something off a shelf and was caught by the title of this book. I made a note and then when I had finished the last book I was reading, I went back for it.
The Dead School by Patrick McCabe
(Delta, 1995)
This is the tale of two men of two generations who experience similar trauma as children, but whose lives take very different paths. One becomes a celebrated Headmaster of a boy's school in Ireland. The other becomes a not-so-dedicated teacher at that school years later. Their lives intersect and from their very first meeting, both are thrown onto different courses than each had planned. Though very different in regards to morality, views on life and culture, and societal values, Raphael Bell and Malachy Dudgeon's lives mirror each others in many ways. Neither ends up turning out too great.
This is a portrait of struggle, the struggle to remain in the present as the world moves on without you. The struggle to reconcile mistakes, and achievements, of the past with the present. It is a story about the rippling effects of tragedy on the individual and those around him. It's also a historical look at a changing society in a notoriously stifling culture that was Ireland in the 20th Century.
This is one of those books that started off slow, but begins to dig into your thoughts until it eventually consumes your attention.
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