In 'Old God's Time,' Sebastian Barry stresses the long effects of violence and abuse
Sebastian Barry's relentlessly bleak, stunning new novel follows his character Tom, a retired police detective, as his life is thrown into disarray when he's confronted with a past he'd rather forget.
Tom Kettle has seen enough evil in his life. The 66-year-old Irishman has retired from his career as a police detective and moved to a small lean-to adjoining a castle in the town of Dalkey. He's relieved to be done with his days in the Garda Síochána, Ireland's national police service: "All his working life he had dealt with villains. After a few decades of that your faith in human nature is in the ground. It's a premature burial, predating your own."
