William Trevor: The Writer and His Work

Rating:
Summary: Everyday Hero
Review: Dolores MacKenna's study of the life and works of William Trevor is an important springboard into understanding one of the most talented writers currently working. While more a work of literary criticism than biography, Ms. MacKenna has done a very competent job of explaining Trevor's unique background and how it relates to his fiction. Born of middle-class Protestant stock in what would become the Republic of Ireland, Trevor grew up something of an outsider, distinct both from the Roman Catholic majority in his country, as well as from the Protestant Anglo-Irish Ascendancy, many of whom left the country after separation from Britain. Indeed, like many Irish of both faiths, he too emigrated to England, where he has lived for more than forty years. Ms MacKenna carefully looks at Trevor's major works and helps to identify some common themes running throughout. From his earliest success, "The Old Boys" (1964) through some of his latest short fiction "Of the Cloth" (in "The New Yorker" magazine 9-3-98), Mr. Trevor has written of "average" people: unassuming, quietly going about life's business, but touched at least once by something tragic or sad or just enervating enough to cause an epiphany. While most of Mr. Trevor's early works were set in England, he is never far removed from his Irish roots, and he has created a great many characters which truly capture the Irish psyche and soul. Perhaps one of the most unique parts of Ms. MacKenna's work is the space she devotes to Trevor's work for radio and television. Many of his most renown short stories have been filmed for the BBC or RTÉ (the Irish national broadcasting service), and Trevor himself has adapted quite a few of his own works for these other media. Mr. Trevor's work is not without humour, but it is of a dark strain. In short, like Joyce before him, he shows us the simple heroism of day-to-day life. Ms. MacKenna's book is a very good introduction to this fascinating body of work.

Rating:
Summary: Everyday Hero
Review: Dolores MacKenna's study of the life and works of William Trevor is an important springboard into understanding one of the most talented writers currently working. While more a work of literary criticism than biography, Ms. MacKenna has done a very competent job of explaining Trevor's unique background and how it relates to his fiction. Born of middle-class Protestant stock in what would become the Republic of Ireland, Trevor grew up something of an outsider, distinct both from the Roman Catholic majority in his country, as well as from the Protestant Anglo-Irish Ascendancy, many of whom left the country after separation from Britain. Indeed, like many Irish of both faiths, he too emigrated to England, where he has lived for more than forty years. Ms MacKenna carefully looks at Trevor's major works and helps to identify some common themes running throughout. From his earliest success, "The Old Boys" (1964) through some of his latest short fiction "Of the Cloth" (in "The New Yorker" magazine 9-3-98), Mr. Trevor has written of "average" people: unassuming, quietly going about life's business, but touched at least once by something tragic or sad or just enervating enough to cause an epiphany. While most of Mr. Trevor's early works were set in England, he is never far removed from his Irish roots, and he has created a great many characters which truly capture the Irish psyche and soul. Perhaps one of the most unique parts of Ms. MacKenna's work is the space she devotes to Trevor's work for radio and television. Many of his most renown short stories have been filmed for the BBC or RTÉ (the Irish national broadcasting service), and Trevor himself has adapted quite a few of his own works for these other media. Mr. Trevor's work is not without humour, but it is of a dark strain. In short, like Joyce before him, he shows us the simple heroism of day-to-day life. Ms. MacKenna's book is a very good introduction to this fascinating body of work.

Rating:
Summary: An introduction to the work of this great writer
Review: Eventually we will have better introductions to Trevor's work, but this one is a fine start. It provides useful material on his life as well as his books and stories. Readers might want to check Books in Print, the New Yorker, and other sources as well to fill out a Trevor bibliography. Scholars looking for projects might inquire into Trevor's moral and religious vantage point.

Rating:
Summary: An introduction to the work of this great writer
Review: Eventually we will have better introductions to Trevor's work, but this one is a fine start. It provides useful material on his life as well as his books and stories. Readers might want to check Books in Print, the New Yorker, and other sources as well to fill out a Trevor bibliography. Scholars looking for projects might inquire into Trevor's moral and religious vantage point.

Rating:
Summary: a peek at one of the masters
Review: This was a revelation. After reading all of Trevor's superb stories, I was dying to learn something about the author himself, how hard his life was, what he did to support himself, and the aspects of Ireland that affected his writing the most. This is a great book for anyone interested in Trevor....