The Abstainer, Ian McGuire
The Abstainer, Ian McGuire
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The Abstainer

Author: Ian McGuire

Narrator: John Keating

Unabridged: 10 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/15/2020


Synopsis

“This is Dickens in the present tense, Dickens for the twenty-first century.”—Roddy Doyle, The New York Times Book Review

An Irishman in nineteenth-century England is forced to take sides when his nephew joins the bloody underground movement for independence in this propulsive novel from the acclaimed author of The North Water.
 
NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times • The New York Public Library • New Statesman • Publishers Weekly

Manchester, England, 1867. The rebels will be hanged at dawn, and their brotherhood is already plotting its revenge. 
 
Stephen Doyle, an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War, arrives in Manchester from New York with a thirst for blood. He has joined the Fenians, a secret society intent on ending British rule in Ireland by any means necessary. Head Constable James O’Connor has fled grief and drink in Dublin for a sober start in Manchester. His job is to discover and thwart the Fenians’ plans whatever they might be. When a long-lost nephew arrives on O’Connor’s doorstep looking for work, he cannot foresee the way his fragile new life will be imperiled—and how his and Doyle’s fates will become fatally intertwined.
 
In this propulsive tale of the underground war for Irish independence, the author of The North Water once again transports readers to a time when blood begot blood. Moving from the dirt and uproar of industrial Manchester to the quiet hills of rural Pennsylvania, The Abstainer is a searing novel in which two men, haunted by their pasts and driven forward by the need for justice and retribution, must fight for life and legacy.

About Ian McGuire

Ian McGuire grew up near Hull and studied at the University of Manchester and the University of Virginia, USA. In 2007 he co-founded the University of Manchester's Centre for New Writing. He is the author of Incredible Bodies and the 2016 Man Booker-longlisted novel, The North Water, for which he won the Royal Society of Literature's Encore Award. The Abstainer is his third novel. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Andrew on October 04, 2022

The year is 1867 and we make the acquaintance of James O’Connor, Head Constable of police in Manchester. It’s a difficult time for the city as three men are about to be hung for the killing of a policeman. The men are all members of a gang of Fenians, a secret society whose intention is to end Briti......more

Goodreads review by Paul on February 26, 2021

Mr McGuire’s previous novel The North Water was disgusting, unnecessarily gruesome, unrestrainedly brutal and soaked with bodily fluids from every possible orifice and I loved it so I am not sure what it says about me that I found this one far too tasteful and reasonable even though there are fairly......more

Goodreads review by Peter on October 11, 2020

The year is 1867 and the setting is Manchester, England. Three members of the Fenian Brotherhood (an organisation striving for Irish independence) have been hanged for taking part in the murder of a policeman. James O'Connor is an Irishman in the local police force, transferred from Dublin in the ho......more

Goodreads review by Bob on November 07, 2020

Ho-Hum. I was excited to get this novel, which I picked up off the New Fiction shelf of my recently re-opened public library. I had read good things about McGuire, with some writers going so far as to compare him to Cormac McCarthy (one of my favorite writers), as did Philipp Meyer who on one of the......more

Goodreads review by Issicratea on June 27, 2021

Like many readers, I was drawn to The Abstainer by McGuire’s striking 2016 Booker-longlisted North Water. I suspect I’m in a minority in preferring The Abstainer. It’s a quieter, less splashy, less Tarantinoesque novel, and I can see that it might look more conventional at first sight. I liked it a......more


Quotes

“Compelling . . . The physical world that [McGuire] imagines assails the reader’s senses: the stink of a tannery, the clangour of factory bells and the way O’Connor’s grief drives him to a ruthlessness beyond his nature.”The Economist
 
“Ian McGuire returns with the page-turning tale of two Irishmen in 1860s Manchester, England, set on different paths of justice and vengeance. The Abstainer succeeds in keeping the reader tense and uneasy, much like the polluted, portentous air hanging over Manchester. The brooding and lyrically written cat-and-mouse narrative of Doyle and O’Connor is excellent. If the reader is looking for a taut tale exploring the brutal vagaries of men’s hearts, The Abstainer is a provocative novel that invites further discovery of a troubled time.”Historical Novels Review 

The Abstainer tells a story of people trapped by class, a simmering revolution, and their own frailty, but it’s ultimately a very human and compelling novel that gives us a clear glimpse into the hearts and souls of its characters. McGuire is a writer who isn’t afraid to take risks and change course from his previous books.”—Philipp Meyer, author of The Son
 
“McGuire has crafted a riveting tale of violence and retribution against the backdrop of the 1860s Fenian rebellion—precursor to the Troubles and one of those rich historical incidents you learn about and wonder, Why didn’t I know about this before? He has a keen sense of how to mix precise local details with transcendent global themes.”—Michael Punke, author of The Revenant
 
The Abstainer is truly terrific—a can’t-put-down book. It’s nothing less than a tight and spare and suspense-filled noir novel, masterfully set in 1860s Britain and America. And like all superb historical novels, it seems as modern and as contemporary as this morning.”—Richard Ford

“This well-told, suspenseful tale will appeal to fans of Deadwood  and Cormac McCarthy.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“O’Connor’s showdown with Stephen Doyle delivers a gut-wrenching finale that will leave readers hoping desperately that McGuire (The North Water, 2016) has an O’Connor prequel in the works. O’Connor’s palpable alienation and the subtly drawn comparisons between the Irish insurgency and America’s then-recent civil war create layers of depth in this exceptional period thriller.”—Booklist, starred review 

“[A] taut, atmospheric tale . . . McGuire demonstrates a mastery of classic realism. [This] crackling work is one to savor.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review