Days Without End (novel)

Days Without End
Cover of the Sebastian Barry novel Days Without End
Author Sebastian Barry
Country Ireland
Language English
Genre Western fiction
Published 2016
Publisher Faber and Faber
Pages 259
ISBN 9780571277018
823.92
Preceded by The Temporary Gentleman

Days Without End is the seventh novel by Sebastian Barry and is set during the Indian Wars and American Civil War.

Overview

The novel is narrated by Thomas McNulty, an Irish émigré who flees to Canada and then America to escape the Great Famine. In America he befriends John Cole and the two form a close relationship, working first, as young boys, as cross-dressing entertainers and then enlisting in the army and taking part in both the Indian Wars and the American Civil War.

The novel was awarded the Costa Book Award 2016.[1] The judges of the prize called it “A miracle of a book – both epic and intimate – that manages to create spaces for love and safety in the noise and chaos of history.”[2] It won the 2017 Walter Scott Prize,[3] and was selected by Time magazine as one of its top ten novels of 2017.[4]

Inspiration

The novel follows The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty, The Secret Scripture and The Temporary Gentleman in dealing with the McNulty family history.[5] Thomas McNulty is a fictionalised version of a past relative of Sebastian Barry's who was said to have fought in the Indian Wars.[6] Barry dedicates the book to his son Toby to whom McNulty’s sexuality is partially a tribute.[7]

References

  1. ↑ RTÉ (1 February 2017). "Sebastian Barry "joyful as a 6-year-old" over historic second Costa win". RTÉ. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Doyle, Martin (3 January 2017). "Sebastian Barry wins Costa Novel Award again for Days Without End". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  3. ↑ Danuta Kean (19 June 2017). "Sebastian Barry's 'glorious and unusual' novel wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  4. ↑ Begley, Sarah (November 21, 2017). "The Top 10 Novels of 2017". Time. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ Kilroy, Claire (29 March 2014). "The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry review – the upheaval of war". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Jordan, Justine (21 October 2016). "Sebastian Barry: 'You get imprisoned in a kind of style, I could feel it leaning on me'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Moss, Stephen (2 February 2017). "Sebastian Barry: 'My son instructed me in the magic of gay life'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 February 2017.


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