The Secret Scripture

By: Sebastian Barry

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Roseanne McNulty, once one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland, is now an elderly patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. As her 100th year draws near, she decides to record the events of her life, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards.

Meanwhile, the hospital is preparing to close and is evaluating its patients to determine whether they can return to society. Dr. Grene, Roseanne's caretaker, takes a special interest in her case. In his research, he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne's life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves. Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal, and unavoidable tragedy.

©2008 Sebastian Barry (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Above all it is the surpassing quality of Mr. Barry's language that gives it its power....It is like a song, with all the pulse of the Irish language, a song sung liltingly and plaintively from the top of Ben Bulben into the airy night." ( New York Times)

A treasure chest...A jewel of a book.

This book has it all! From the first sentence to an end you will wish would never come, the story, the language and the stunning use of metaphor, Sacred Scripture is a novel to cherish. It is at once intimate and shocking, unraveling a brutal personal history with an elegant, soft touch...a mighty challenge. It is not to be missed. Extraordinary writing--delightfully read.

amazing story, I listened to it twice, very much

Iiked it. I understand they are making a movie of the book. it should be interesting, I will be sure to see it.

Beautifully written and read!!!!

The reader is extraordinary’ and the book so beautifully written. I highly recommend this audible experience.

Wish it had gone further into the big picture

I enjoyed the book, but wish it had developed faster and been a bit easier to follow on the who was who.

Irish Civil War, Greeks vs. Trojans

As others have said, this is a beautiful novel, beautifully read, and it wouldn't have been the same without the soft Irish accent. To add a few more points: If someone had said, "Here's a novel about the Irish Civil War", it wouldn't have captured the same interest. The way the conflict(s) were brought in, slowly but increasingly, was masterful. The child Roseann had no concept of "civil war", just scenes, more or less clear, of what happened to her father. We learn later how the scenes fit into the larger, tragic conflicts of church & state, but the war is never allowed to overwhelm the characters. There's no explicit, "he's on this side; he's on that side". It was a complicated stuggle, and this book sent me to find out more about it. I recommend the 1996 Liam Neeson movie, "Michael Collins", & of course, wikipedia. Another surprising discovery -- I was searching for other works by this author & found "The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty", a prequel written 10 years before "Secret Scriptures", about the minor-but-pivotal character. Can't wait to read it. (There's no recording.) This got me thinking about his namesake, Aeneas, of Trojan War fame. The parallels give one more slant on the book. AEneas, the wandering warrior, cast out of his homeland. AEneas, the passionate lover of the seductive Carthagenean Queen Dido (a.k.a. the heathen, Presbyterian beauty, Roseann). AEneas, whose mother Aphrodite pulls him away from his love & tells him he has a more glorious path to fulfill (Here Tom merges with Eneas). And BTW, are there really 3 distinct sons, or are they in essense all representatives of the same Son of Ireland, each with his own particular allegiances & fates? After all, in the letter that Jack sent Roseann, he wrote "we [brothers] all loved you". Mrs. McNulty as Aprodite? Her sons did have different fathers, and she certainly had the wrath of god! This is one way to recognize fine literature -- it has connections that go in many directions. ENJOY!