The Leavetaking

Widely considered one of the greatest Irish writers by readers and critics alike John McGahern has been called arguably the most important Irish novelist since Samuel Beckett (The Guardian) whose spare but luminous prose (Chicago Tribune) is frequently compared to that of James Joyce. In The Leavetaking McGahern presents a crucial cathartic day in the life of a young Catholic schoolteacher who along with his new wife returns to Ireland after a years sabbatical in London. Moving from the earliest memories of both characters into the present day The Leavetaking recounts the couples struggle to overcome the suffocating influence of the church in order to find happiness in a fulfilling adult love.