The Story Of Lucy Gault
by William Trevor
Viking $221
THOUGH 75 YEARS old and on his 23rd novel, William Trevor has lost none of his narrative power. His deceptively simple prose is deliciously whimsical and strips away unnecessary elaboration. He is a master of the gossamer touch, leading his readers gently through the lives and loves of ordinary people in an extraordinary way.
This haunting story encapsulates Trevor's frustration at the sheer futility of human conflict in general and in his native Ireland in particular. The sorry tale of Lucy Gault's life begins to unravel when at eight, her family is thrown into turmoil following a night raid on their ancestral home in rural Cork by three local callow youths looking to strike a drunken and misconceived blow against British imperialism.
Irish politics were polarised in 1921 and emotions running high. Lucy's mother, an Englishwoman, is wracked with fear and distress and persuades her husband Everard, a captain wounded in the trenches, to agree to follow the neighbours' example and flee to safety. His reluctance, despite coming under local pressure having winged one of the would-be assailants and being ironically sympathetic to their views, is outweighed by his love for, and loyalty to, his wife.