Literal and Figurative Border-Crossings in Bernard MacLaverty's Lamb, Cal, and Grace Notes

Abstract

The Partition that created a political border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland resulted in a civil war, and later in the violent decades of the Troubles. Although the conflicts were given a vast amount of analysis, there continued to be evasiveness and self-censorship regarding discussions about the border in the Irish culture. Due to the conflicts, invisible borders have also been formed – religious and psychological ones that have a tangible impact on individual lives. The novels of Bernard MacLaverty address these literal and figurative borders through the issues of individuals. Lamb, Cal, and Grace Notes explore various border-crossings through a central theme: in Lamb, religion, in Cal, political violence, and in Grace Notes, music. Moreover, Cal and Lamb reflects the depressed mentality of the 1970s, while Grace Notes represents a sense of hope caused by the peace process in the 1990s in Northern Ireland.BSc/BAAnglisztikaB