Name: Five Leaves Irish Fiction Group discusses Reading In The Dark by Seamus Deane
Start: 2025-10-27T19:00:00+00:00
Location: 14A Long Row, NG1 2DH Nottingham, United Kingdom

Five Leaves Irish Fiction Group discusses Reading In The Dark by Seamus Deane

Our book group is open to all. Attend every meeting, occasionally or just once in your life. All we ask is that you read the book in advance and take part in the discussion. There’s a short introduction by a member of staff, a group regular, or someone we know with a special interest in the book in question.
This month we will be discussing Reading In The Dark by Seamus Deane
This is the story of a haunted Irish childhood.
The setting is Derry in the Northern Ireland of the 40s and 50s, fraught with political hatred, family secrets and lethal intrigue. As a young boy tries to make sense of life, poverty and violence shift and obscure the facts; meanwhile his night-time reading of Irish legends weaves enchantment through reality. Claustrophobic but lyrically charged, breathtakingly sad but vibrant and unforgettable, this is one of the finest books about growing up – in Ireland or anywhere – that has ever been written.