Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien: Review
According to Philip Roth, The Little Red Chairs is “a masterpiece”; the best novel Edna O’Brien has ever written. I wonder if Edna greeted the accolade with a gleam in her eye and her trademark mischievous smile. It is, after all ironic that her status as a novelist is recognised more on the world stage than in her own country. Her early years as a novelist were marked by scorn and derision in her native Ireland. It’s taken more than sixty years for the country to take her back into their bosom. Last year (long overdue) O’Brien was honoured as a Saoithe of Aosdána, Ireland’s highest literary honour, and with it came a presidential apology for the pious disdain which led to a ban on her books for decades and accusations she had a too-favourable attitude to the Provisional IRA.
But O’Brien has never been a lady who sought a quiet life or opted for the safe topics in her books, despite attracting the soubriquet “a “bargain basement Molly Bloom” at one time. In The Little Red Chairs she turns her attention to the monstrous acts perpetrated by a tyrant and to his innocent citizens who are forced to take flight and become stateless refugees. It’s a tremendously haunting novel delivered by someone who has a keenly observant eye and understanding of human nature.
You can read my review at Shiny New Books and Ali’s review last year.
End Notes
The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien was published in the UK by Faber and Faber in 2015. Thanks to the publishers for providing me with a free copy via NetGalley.
If you’re interesting in discovering why O’Brien came to write this book take a look at this interview with The Daily Telegraph.
World Literary Tour: Visit Ireland in 5 Books : BookerTalk
[…] The Little Red Chairs is a haunting novel that takes its title from a tableau of 11,000 empty chairs created in Sarajevo to commemorate victims of the siege by Bosnian Serbs. Her main character – a fugitive war criminal – is discovered hiding in a backwater village on the west coast of Ireland. […]
Six Degrees from The Dry to Gaza #6degrees | BookerTalk
[…] The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien is a reminder that these corrupt leaders don’t always get away with their actions; occasionally they are called to account. O’Brien’s novel takes its title from a tableau of 11,000 empty chairs created in Sarajevo to commemorate victims of the siege by Bosnian Serbs in early 1990s. Her main character – a fugitive war criminal discovered hiding in a backwater village on the west coast of Ireland – is modelled on the real life war crime fugitive Radovan Karadzic. […]
Top ten Tuesday: book club recommendations | BookerTalk
[…] The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien. Set in a remote Irish village it examines what happens when a dictator on the run from atrocities he committed in his country attracts the attention of a lonely housewife. This book will have you thinking about actions and consequences and forgiveness. Reviewed here […]
camelbroken
Read your review of this, it won’t let me comment for some,reason. It’s great, very tempted by this. It’s always the dark ones that appeal!
laurelrainsnow
High praise, coming from Philip Roth, but long overdue, of course. This one is on my list, and I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for visiting my blog, and for the reminder about Nora Webster, which I’ve now bookmarked on Amazon.
Alex
O’Brien is a gap in my reading experience which I must do something to fill, especially given that I enjoy other Irish writers so much. Is this a good place to start or would you recommend something else?