The Sea

By: John Banville / Narrated By: John Lee

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Gosh! What is it about the Irish! :)

Seriously!

The Sea, winner of the Man Booker Prize, about sums up what I’ve spent the past week listening to: It’s dark, sometimes gritty, sometimes morose, but ALWAYS there’s a superb way with words!

While categorized as Contemporary Fiction, I believe Literary is far closer to the mark as really, nothing much happens. It’s all about the writing, folks.

Max Morden is a middle-aged Irishman mourning the loss of his wife, trying to find a way to live this new life as a widower. He returns to a seaside town where he spent time at during his childhood, and he commences to re-experience his time during his youth with the Grace family. So we’re treated to his early sexual stirrings, his youthful angst, his desire to be better than what he is. The book ping-pongs between the past with the Graces, the past with his dying wife, and the present with all his ultra-imbibing of alcohol and his petty squabbles with his exasperated daughter who has lived with his iron fist for far too long.

It’s all about the writing, folks.

Banville creates quite a canvas with his use of words, with his depiction of late autumn at the seaside, the atmospheric swirls of phrase. I may not have thought much of the story, or lack thereof, but I certainly could appreciate his talent. Besides, all the stories come together for a most satisfying conclusion, one without a gratuitous happy ending; life is just life and death in the end.

Also, John Lee brings his Shakespearean tones to the delivery of the poetry within the text. He may falter in his consistent use of an Irish lilt, but he NEVER falters in a magnificent performance. John Lee will ever be JOHN LEE! I appreciate that.

Come to The Sea for the writing, hang around for the narration, and definitely stay for a great conclusion.

When it comes to Irish authors, it’s all about the writing, folks.