|
|
Article: `By the Lake' by John McGahern; Knopf.(The Providence Journal)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- April 24, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
John McGahern is recognized as one of Ireland's best writers. His new novel, ``By the Lake,'' exhibits the compact expressiveness that comes from revising a huge, densely packed manuscript down to a modest-size, lucid text.
It is a novel of smart edges. Each character has a well-defined entropy _ that is, direction, integrity, but also openness to change. Joe and Kate Ruttledge left careers behind them in London to build a home on the lake. It took years for them to be accepted by the locals. Their house supplies the hub of the novel. They leave it unlocked and are always prepared to entertain or help out. The house echoes with the clink of glasses and the rise ...