tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938060587020568315.post1714890289937632469..comments2023-12-14T10:28:43.397+00:00Comments on Declan Burke: The Jury Remains Out: CAL by Bernard MacLavertyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938060587020568315.post-39881260460645984962008-05-16T08:47:00.000+01:002008-05-16T08:47:00.000+01:00Cheers, John. The question here, of course, is whe...Cheers, John. The question here, of course, is whether a novel is a 'crime novel' because it engages with, or is propelled forward by, the consequences of criminal activity - even if, in this case, the criminal activity had a political motivation, or the fig-leaf of same. Cheers, DecDeclan Burkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14322645323239292406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938060587020568315.post-6917964873176515552008-05-16T08:33:00.000+01:002008-05-16T08:33:00.000+01:00That's very interesting, it would never have occur...That's very interesting, it would never have occurred to me to think of <EM>Cal</EM> as crime fiction, though of course on reflection the crime, offstage and in the past, at the heart of it is what defines Cal more than anything else, with his resulting sense of guilt.<BR/><BR/>Actually I'd agree with the International Fiction Review too, in that it was always my view that Ulster fiction was unutterably depressing - saying that as someone from Ulster who never wanted to be reminded of the grimmer realities when reading a book or watching a TV programme. That's probably why I took so long to read <EM>Cal</EM> even though I'd loved MacLaverty's debut <EM>Lamb</EM> so much. Now, perhaps because I am more mature about these things and perhaps because 'the Troubles' are a finally receding memory, I can engage more willingly with this sort of thing.<BR/><BR/>It helps - in fact it's essential - that MacLaverty is a brilliant writer of course, and could turn anything to gold.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com