Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Body Coat
The Body Coat
The Body Coat
Ebook388 pages6 hours

The Body Coat

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

This is a story set in 1990s Ireland by well-known Irish poet, Maighread Medbh, who is the author of five published poetry collections and a literary study of solitude, Savage Solitude: Reflections of a Reluctant Loner.
The Body Coat is a novel in the fantasy realist genre, combining prostitution, murder, family abuse and community hysteria with New Age philosophies and traditional beliefs. The main character, Jacqui Byrnes, is trying to believe that she can set up a normal family life in a new town. Victim of an abusive childhood, she finds herself again exploited by her husband. Is it desperation that makes her buy into local beliefs in the supernatural, or are the strange happenings really the actions of the spirit beings who live in the hill? Either way, her life and those near her undergo complete metamorphosis in a very short space of time. The book begins with her diary, then pans out in third person narrative to involve other lives, the world of the Si (Shee), and the collective life of the town of Drumnashee.
Set during the economic recession of early 1990s Ireland, the atmosphere of this novel pulses with the controversies of the time: reproductive rights; teenage pregnancy; unemployment; political corruption; and abuse within religious institutions. In the tension between realities, we experience the transition from the traditional to the modern.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 11, 2013
ISBN9781301569564
The Body Coat
Author

Maighread Medbh

Maighread Medbh was born in Co. Limerick, Ireland, and now lives in Swords, Co. Dublin. Widely known for her experimental approach to text and powerful performance style, she has been described as ‘a unique presence in the Irish literary scene’. Following her debut poetry collection, The Making of a Pagan (Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1990), the conviction that poetry emerges from one’s body led her to experiment with musical rhythms and moved her towards dramatic poetry. In the nineties, much of her work addressed political and social matters, and was primarily published in dramatic form. During this time, she was also writing novels and other works.Maighread now has seven published collections and a non-fiction work, Savage Solitude, which is a scholarly, dramatised study of the lone state, published by Dedalus Press in April 2013. Her most recent book, Parvit of Agelast, a verse fantasy, was shortlisted for the Pigott Poetry Prize in 2017. She's currently pursuing a creative PhD in DCU.

Read more from Maighread Medbh

Related to The Body Coat

Related ebooks

Related articles

Reviews for The Body Coat

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Body Coat - Maighread Medbh

    cbook_preview_excerpt.html}ےFݯo,vG7Ӯ5fmFc$,ĥ'~<'~ 8ٙJw??ii>_54is~g_|| SX;?͇|g'O(_ibۮ ߸]Ԝ&7Fnq|7š9?Y>n¸nl[ Or\'P4#rS/r?ӯ_Who.ȕ{ͷM[ӿy[eqi^qZoˏM-%fc=e;y&//07]r Unylf~p1~?~G?|^iF'e!"Ir)%Xal>epŏ7Pe=%- ݺ* x(M"o5>_,)"Ŀ ùy ";~傏y-6Ú@~_@Cy|Ou[#8ʲxQQ\3/k"uNRG &m-,V&.7:Y,<[\nwϐ߶_e~"B'KC򝱓ȥ" )9/؅kh<[;$5SgX(:_+ułPr(]5Sy(mCΑ߇¸.T?y_D~,o/+{P}ZnW\=/Kf\83FM%6o9eb5Taz:UBO<{S?YAd@x?uև2v|pwuOU% nCwo]YX%^ߗIvݒm(#v$op7q) W8% yѿwJznlZyxq:w0pxqޏN>Fn Rpx:='!>VqDE_7ČqWJ< [k=^Y}H瘐55d4J k#׍c|[Pa@xaUQwS/4 {#)W¡ib{<`+qϧЊU< Tx񔜼~_j5CpT6SwFM_Iվj-'8u*Ѩ ӧ(6#igp>GywM&KR&x<TP/I В5>}Z@x{(5 =#$f\=# FS{'R j"6i#lXgڬRھ Ә{sZh@&8 R3g>tEsqu?B iܹ@8RkzFdbcx W3nL5#KLSF]DmsL4NB֙Rl)xaggs0z T_۪D!p\( } f=/,heie f-U 0f{)h6ЖT o/H?\| 10Tt׫Gc}ZGzZa,/e%ԭGFU?)Q|-_{Y]JmS2j84:⩚).Q m6<>M| wu!VډfH˅ReD Dv.$,XUnBV=d<,}71UsxD-`e#htۯÕ@X1 4׏j?eQa[d̞0F.[^@3-T9c5KфWUBc"0ktU+Qq1WCj=CхvH $oR8B8{> Hp h 5O(rR<}Z}v~ljbʑCK 9/L޺$=a("w X }0v=UvxFptTH @b_(A%zf›@LCK@GžbXO(~>3S5@Thh~'z$>4j-;(CQ;BU_0ۡ>8UCs@~ȩqDG|L`9lXg&r'%E@ذ:#9IqE<`ד_ vQl]P{w3b"5k!sCrt <#Y .XsA?E=l $Y, `l"Vfsч: 7n6d :}̡\H\:MI$c*ޘPGM[pc&@lΓ.$PZ#}3rVL.\UJ·,!ӡ̌\$ᠯo`YĎQR1FICVBFNB<}li5 Loۥ,Nm(s{ƑhJxom@;yRqeC&uᙍA_^A&/irP7J>s w6U13 )[%z ݉RE+ZW` ^P% 6u'1q.\kc8z$N6Bd 2"(H"Zi'%(xEPЊzHk%3Ej Z27vg.NTE>,7c""'/ubY6>Osp ޻,7R*Z\XMa[-IIi@8J@sDN@){hHIQ3ocLjH}sĊ\bYfyMJNO42֌trnȂ}+uږXiiX; ><4?TX[v ⷷux UXd%Hbw\. opV"eEnOdY{Y;C/n蘽TKJ1A<Ǎ\t2(,&%jcʧNxH`O^.%죔8QDBXfЏ[0IhƔ^4FJDCm~1\M3zy,lz{O4da~w6O(yDwIsPSNUy=E܏vYu6_u/S:|ez3D͐!ߵCIW' Gbt=GY^\Pҿپ&cuO3Fj2%zm4#'G1{|h}+2"*Q i9g\%% f5ٻ[KitKLKIUH-'+7E6+nvU7LގΨU9PɭwW 1)O3x +h])$ܹ`23wv-jtgo,(?c! ED䷃&?fdj/?ECl,i\D}%ĘD&p[.|*;/Ƴ/;Qi{{xkڻI kED=_$z`rqVt6eG~yQ$$oS 1a; bE< Aa)H {lW-Yyw 52rӱp,Ve$efَʼnCc")u«:zhv<&]r$S^~c:SΨw6Fϯ{;pd]fy/]9Z  <^ShXgT.qN]QJjdwD |iqXhr1BPj@ЧgBy!~AUA68J Ax>"ЅLm쎐f*3j.%`IPMrؽOzC>aōsc;d*a $ FiY)e@v _쯕c$j sW Ϙz,[FnȻu@pمSZRĦ-U7+5kͱcE=γ *j y2 p$RK. ZOX*I a@.YhSBDIʉJ½hsH s - ZFchl_e '=8RwU@(f<^P+=V;!=˯+`TƺDM rU$3[դhyk=gUnL4>2)cy/KzT Ɣ!F=dU!yNpA ;GTyɑ[NPJcZޓaT ]L-;׍(Im9|~ LzJj!+en"dbj;ݕ*&vx e;2dNM7'U )&I$y"3Cğѝ㻓Jm'pkmv?)z įGY_\L(FO" jk0ZN{hKTVik @lxo YPhZ&sf^@4Y3GE 2Ya$R {ռ5RM&oj."Zܜ*McĞM7Tu(<:X|/rrq86ԘoRS5(dUwDއ,KLCrˣBd"vA0߫ 9k&sXj࿬ LW*Jt/[gюs.ҜO2 S b19Yx2m$zr":kc#I kY[&^t9=N;4`ZŐ ~+Xn$,I-p2b1έ)ٷ"sf56TCd%b oY1Rx1 #\U!9%h&,rD7E8L$zx=*f ,$;2Y_#_`⷏}Sэ\huO5cΙ0˰_*T+B2_ )$֦ ?b@$IWzk/DS5O~a=óԬ`Q 8J)6! @oưsu6ռ5)Uf)|s@F5EgcD6pM"5H٣g_EpSi$m^.K\zZn@kd7vXTF+QvXufmkΌZ2rҝ*rzN^~jw(հS}Ӊ/_+n$~Ȃ4JϫOBn'د0,-_c)(+z9trOߧz1{mN4a5+Il7:kTwT٣^<ɜ5^tuX2Db{Qw]#*FkЅ N )~Z-b=^Z&Ŕ6Q=$J52/4*bNk[Uj ԔRڬiwcWdM&2Jm߹:".VHNf6ݏFOȣ LQ5`(;$tΞƤ ةu2glnAjSe"SonXRʔJheZbc0\x+܋J򣯩s*f[Zc0k*˾\ug4d;!&eA&2#?*yU'N,5)DhzIt^|=fAZἦKM]hfPy$M䒰[8D1@c{EIٷVYzVbSyZ-eUAjn >m'AdV 9* ĀVd$'Zrܞ>9\*F؋xN:b(#s0dFtk gFLР|d&W:4U`oE9X&}biSE&V296)b=ɦyE|߿24Q8"qqfdVv8kಌ%,_¬K 6A6'g h&& v)7~1h|:1i)*iH"PeL@:mڥ\9+KV@UAA2[ɣy [ Rl%~p;ntJw֤M5-`5fTatSU w೓a҉-׾]9KEe%44x6s]5iQ[c[~JZe [#+oLrŝUhQdTv- ]B戥DypN9 I,p]Rlm1g!|>if&{{=6mQ*9旐 jBU-[)`^%XռSeY eY\ ؑ<_tVXERDEk?I1E=Y u@]H\TQRUT:j}%+6V"K(Tl&n0_id.q&Cqˠe|G@L<3$6WPMY?7=frVU~&BMN*, 3ZFO }r G| ;NR1 6]]ۃ;qV~z Vb1ehG{)B#.Ǘ8/]s,x5"lZ_rީH{126JŽkL :?`bYgl,Rp5TQR%asCU|#%2e¦IOq
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1