![]() (A buffet at a party looks “spectacular but effortless,” with ingredients “heaped rather than arranged.”) This is a crowd of well-to-do Protestants who are keen to learn how to speak Irish so that they might prove their open-mindedness. “Trespasses” is full of wise observations about social class, the way it exists along a spectrum, so that Davy can describe Cushla’s house as a mansion compared to his own, and Cushla feels uncultured and less than in the midst of Michael’s sophisticated friends, whose refinement is best exemplified by descriptions of the food they eat. The author is mindful, though, to remind us of the limitations of such humanity in a place where everyone fears retribution in one form or another. ![]() In the midst of rampant and unpredictable cruelty, it is the kindness of individuals to one another that gets anyone through. Familial and romantic love, but perhaps most profoundly, the love between a vulnerable child and a teacher who cares deeply about his well-being. Through Davy, Cushla sees the perils of childhood, not only sectarian violence, but also a predatory priest, whispering secrets into Davy’s ear, punishing him for sins never committed, and offering “private catechism.” Cushla vows to protect Davy from all of it. Kennedy gives us children who are funny and surprising and uplifting in exactly the ways real children are, with none of the treacle that sometimes sneaks into fictional depictions of young people. A savage beating leaves Davy’s father badly injured and unable to work. Her favorite student is Davy, who gets picked on by his classmates and lives in a housing estate where his family are the only Catholics. The vocabulary of a 7-year-old child now.” She worries a great deal about her pupils, who know far too much about human suffering and brutality: “Booby trap. When an alarm sounds at school and all the children must rush to the cafeteria, a fellow teacher remarks, “They’re giddy.” Cushla replies matter-of-factly, “They love a bomb scare.” In “Trespasses,” as in life, humor provides an antidote to the darkest times. When she passes a billboard full of warnings separated by ellipses (“ IF YOU’RE SUSPICIOUS DIAL 999 … DON’T LET CHILDREN PLAY WITH TOY GUNS”) Cushla thinks, “the final ellipsis leaving endless possibilities.” She imagines what these might be if directed specifically at her: “DON’T FALL FOR A MARRIED PROD TWICE YOUR AGE … DON’T AGREE TO SEE HIM EVERY SINGLE TIME IT SUITS HIM …” Cushla’s self-awareness makes her wonderful company. How she hates this part of herself but can’t resist. The details of their relationship are perfectly rendered: The longing Cushla feels for Michael, the way she exists at his beck and call. It takes her away from her worries for a time, and brings about a less dire set of concerns, such as what to wear should they run into each other and when he will next contact her. Their ensuing connection injects Cushla’s life with verve and excitement, with that all-consuming fizz of a new love affair. ![]() Cushla goes to a party with a kind, gentle co-worker on the way there, a group of British soldiers humiliates him and drags him from the car.Įarly on in the book, Cushla meets an older, married Protestant barrister named Michael Agnew. ![]() Cushla looks out the window first thing in the morning and sees her neighbor, a prison officer, checking under his car for explosives: “His wife was watching from the doorstep in a turquoise nightgown, holding their dog.” A wedding reception has to be relocated at the last minute when the hotel where it was meant to take place gets firebombed. But Kennedy deftly reveals how violence in a conflict zone can more accurately be described as intertwined with and inseparable from daily life. Stories set in such times and places are often described as playing out against a backdrop of violence. She herself is lonely, isolated, “in a sort of heartsick stasis.” ![]() Cushla still lives with her, and tries to manage the situation as best she can. Her mother has slipped into alcoholism and bouts of despair. Her brother has taken over the family bar, where he tries to maintain the peace (and stay in business) by keeping out of politics. Two and a half years after her father’s death, Cushla’s family is still grieving as they find their new shape. “Trespasses” revolves around 24-year-old Cushla Lavery, a Catholic schoolteacher living just outside Belfast in the early years of the Troubles, in a small town that is heavily occupied by British soldiers. I think the two will be forever linked in my mind. I happened to see it the same week I was reading “Trespasses,” the brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking debut novel by Louise Kennedy. Recently, The New York Times published a photograph of children in Ukraine playing on a playground, surrounded by bombed-out buildings. ![]()
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