0316579661 But, contrite afterwards, he sank to his knees and begged forgiveness."
I majored in English Lit and took grad seminars and I am angry -- why have I never heard of Brian Moore before reading Howard Norman's "Next Life Might Be Kinder", which mentions him? This book was published in 1955.
But I will.Beautifully written, but (and?) The U.S. version was published in 1956 as The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.
Judith’s clinginess and desperation is awkward to read about if you know someone like that. His father was a surgeon and lecturer, and his mother had been a nurse. It also features a rather marvellous boarding-house setting, an element that generally ticks all the right boxes for me.Take what might be a fairly typical Irish boarding house drama, add a lot of Catholic doubt and guilt plus a forlorn, aging spinster and her awful matron landlady, and this novel is what you'll get. Judith herself expresses fears that are standard fare for novels written in the c.18th century, the Austen era.
Turns out I was right, as it’s definitely one of the best novels I’ve read in recent months, if not this year. The Lonely Passion of Julie Hearne - as Gimlie would say "you'd find more cheer in a grave yard" Maggie Smith chews up the scenery in this two hour flick about a lonely, down on her luck alcoholic older lady who wants to get married, to anybody but happens on Bob Hoskins (sp) who is a greedy and only sees her as a means to getting some ready cash. Such a sad story of a tortured soul. When she finds herself at a loss for words, she seeks comfort by peering down at her long, pointed shoes, which have little buttons on them, and the buttons amuse her by "winking up at her like wise little friendly eyes. Judith's wanting to be loved in spite of everything and yet failing is terribly upsetting... there was a moment I stop reading as I felt so much pity for her ... No passion that can be shared for Judith ...people whose faith in either direction is strong enough to take it[The loss of faith angle is icing on the top for this non-Catholic. I was therefore aware of this book from a young age, but it had an exotic taint to it, as it was anti-Church, and perhaps involved immoral living. The last few chapters when the character goes from address to address in her hired car is almost insanely economical, and deeply affecting. [as Judith seeks solace in alcohol, loses her faith and self-respect and burns her bridges There is someone in my life who partly reminds me of Judith Hearne. Finally indifferent, like all, nearly all she meets, particularly men. It is a marvelous, sad movie, and it has two of the best actors ever -- …
Set in the 1950s in Belfast, in a very Catholic population among the larger Protestant majority, How to recommend a book full of utter despair and hopelessness? Moore is brilliant. I wouldn't call this a tender or sentimental story, but rather, a devastating treatment of Belfast's most vulnerable class. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne is an unflinching and deeply sympathetic portrait of a woman destroyed by self and circumstance. It also features a rather marvellous boarding-house setting, an element that generally ticks all the right boxes for me.First published in 1955, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne is a novel by the Northern Irish writer, Brian Moore. Along with Judith, this person has the complete inability to see things from other’s point of view, or to see reality in the harsh light of day.