7.2 /10 1 Votes
Language English Media type Hardcover 8vo ISBN 0752881167 Originally published 1960 Country Republic of Ireland Genre Bildungsroman | 3.6/5 Goodreads Series Country Girls trilogy Pages 223 OCLC 3365816 Page count 223 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Set in Western Ireland and Dublin, late 1950s Similar Girl with Green Eyes, Country Girl, The Little Red Chairs, A Pagan Place, Girls in their married b | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The country girls part 1 of 8
The Country Girls is Edna O'Brien's first novel. Released in 1960, it is often credited with breaking silence on sexual matters and social issues during a repressive period in Ireland following World War II. and was later adapted into film. The Irish censor banned the book, shaming her parents; the family's parish priest publicly burned copies of the novel. She won the Kingsley Amis Award in 1962 for The Country Girls.
Contents
The country girls part 2 of 8
Plot synopsis
Caithleen "Kate" Brady and Bridget "Baba" Brennan are two young Irish country girls who have spent their childhood together. As they leave the safety of their convent school in search of life and love in the big city, they struggle to maintain their somewhat tumultuous relationship. Cait, dreamy and romantic, yearns for true love, while Baba just wants to experience the life of a single girl. Although they set out to conquer the world together, as their lives take unexpected turns, Cait and Baba must ultimately learn to find their own way.
Reception
The Irish censorship board banned The Country Girls upon its publication.
Analysis
The novel is an exploration of the trials and tribulations of two friends set against the backdrop of 1950s Ireland, showing the influence of James Joyce in the humane attention to detail and thought and the rather lyrical prose of the narrator Cait.
The ending where Cait is betrayed by Mr Gentleman can be considered as a call by O'Brien for a reconsideration of the values of Irish/Catholic society. O'Brien helped to launch a new generation of Irish writers more focused on the demands and values of society, such as Anne Enright, Nuala O'Faolain and Colm Tóibín.