Love of the World

John McGahern did not spread himself thinly as a writer. Nearly all of his creative energy went into what was central for him: the great novels and stories that are now part of the canon of Irish and world literature. Yet he spoke out when he felt he had something worth saying and his non-fiction writings are of great interest to anyone who loves his work, and to all those interested in the recent history of Ireland.

This book brings together all of McGahern’s surviving essays, reviews and speeches. In them his canon of great writers - Tolstoy, Chekhov, James, Proust and Joyce - is cited many times, with deep and subtle appreciation. His discussions of Irish writers who influenced him are generous and brilliant - among them Michael McLaverty, Ernie O’Malley and Forrest Reid. His interventions on issues he felt strongly about - sectarianism, women’s rights, the power of the church in Ireland - are lucid and far-sighted.

Bernard O'Donoghue writes:

'The appearance of what is pretty well the complete non-fictional prose by one of Ireland's greatest writers of fiction is a very significant event ... [this is] an ample and compelling collection of essays ... By the end, McGahern's philosophy was that of a person wholly at home in the world, and the only real tragedy is the loss of the world. This is a wonderfully life-enhancing book.' [ full review in the Irish Times ]