The Dark - Softcover

"[McGahern] writes with a poignancy and passion. He has been likened to the early Joyce, and he has the same spare artistry."
-- Spectator
"We must know that while we read this book, an experience much like touching the raw nerves of a growing boy, we are in the company of a very talented writer."
--Library Journal
"The best novel to come out of Ireland for many years."
--Irish Times

The Dark, widely acclaimed, yet infamously banned, is John McGahern’s sensitive, perceptive, and beautifully written portrayal of a young man’s coming-of-age in rural Ireland. Imaginative and introverted, the boy is successful in school, but bitterly confused by the guilt-inducing questions he endures from the priests who should be his venerated guides. His relationship with his bullying, bigoted, widowed father is similarly conflicted — touched with both deep love and carefully suppressed hatred. When he must leave home to further his education, their relationship is drawn to an emotional climax that teaches both father and son some of the most intricate truths about manhood.