Featured Reading Guide
Bernard MacLaverty
Returning to Belfast after a long absense, to attend her father`s funeral. Catherine McKenna-a young composer-remembers exactly why she left: the claustrophobic intimacies of the Catholic enclave, her fastidious, nagging mother, and the pervading tensions of a city at war with itself. She remembers a more innocent time, when the Loyalists Lambeg drums sounded mysterious and exciting; she remembers her shattered relationship with the drunken, violent Dave, she remembers the child she had with him, waiting back in Glasgow. This is a novel, about coming to terms with the past and the healing power…
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topAbout the Book
Returning to Belfast after a long absense, to attend her father`s funeral. Catherine McKenna-a young composer-remembers exactly why she left: the claustrophobic intimacies of the Catholic enclave, her fastidious, nagging mother, and the pervading tensions of a city at war with itself. She remembers a more innocent time, when the Loyalists Lambeg drums sounded mysterious and exciting; she remembers her shattered relationship with the drunken, violent Dave, she remembers the child she had with him, waiting back in Glasgow. This is a novel, about coming to terms with the past and the healing power of music, GRACE NOTES is a master story-teller`s triumphant return to the long form: a powerful lyrical novel of great distinction.
topStarting Points for Discussion
- Examine the wider significance of the phrase ‘Grace Notes’ with reference to Catherine’s life. Why do you think Mac Laverty chose to call his book Grace Notes?
- The first part of the book is set in Northern Ireland. Does setting Catherine’s life story against a real and historical and political landscape make her more credible as a character?
- Catherine’s musical composition is central to her life. How does music help her cope with problems such as motherhood, loss of faith and family relationships?
- Tension is created in Grace Notes by Mac Laverty withholding information about Anna and Dave. Consider the effects of the slow revealing of facts about these two important people in Catherine’s life.
- Examine the way Catherine realize her potential in a world dominated by men, and how she copes with her experiences if relationships with the men in her life.
- Mac Laverty’s earlier novels Lamb and Cal were both made into successful films. What qualities, if any, does Grace Notes have which would make it a viable proposition for a film?
Other Books by Bernard MacLaverty
Cal
For Cal, some of the choices are devastatingly simple… He can work in an ab…
Lamb
On a promontory jutting out into the Atlantic wind stands the Home run by B…
Matters Of Life & Death
A new book of stories from Bernard MacLaverty is a cause for celebration, but…
The Anatomy School
This is the story of the growing up of Martin Brennan, a troubled boy in tr…
Walking the Dog and Other …
‘A belfast man out walking his dog is kidnapped… A Catholic schoolboy with …
Suggested Further Reading
- Reading in the Dark ~ Seamus Deane
- A Goat’s Song ~ Dermot Healey
- Atonement ~ Ian McEwan
- Felicia’s Journey ~ William Trevor
- Amongst Women ~ John McGaharn