It all sounds a bit like the Rose of Tralee – but even scarier...
Robert Dunbar's review of Louise O’Neill’s remarkable debut novel, Only Ever Yours (Quercus), from the Irish Times on Saturday 23rd August. Louuse o'Neill will be at Mountains to Sea for 'Going Too Far? Panel Discussion on Young Adult fiction' on Saturday 13th September at 4.30pm in the dlr LexIcon. Elaina Ryan, CBI Director will be chairing this discussion. Get booking now! http://bit.ly/1okFjHO
'Louise O’Neill’s remarkable debut novel, Only Ever Yours merits attention and commendation on several levels. In one sense, and particularly because of its structure and suspense-fuelled plot, it qualifies as an easy read, but in terms of its content, little about it is easy: numerous moments may well remind readers of those television news programmes that warn viewers that they may find certain images in the bulletin distressing.....
The novel is set in an unyieldingly strict boarding school where the student body (a phrase which here assumes a special significance) is exclusively female, the students being known as “eves”. As they approach their 16th year they prepare for “the Ceremony”, the final stage of the destiny that has awaited them since their creation, their entry into a world that in one way or another is male-ordered and male-controlled. Some will end up as “companions”, some will become “concubines” and some will remain, as “chastities”, teaching in the school.
In a book with many brilliantly realised sequences involving high drama, cruelty, exploitation and manipulation, the depiction of the particular selection process described here stands out as utterly compelling. A superb set piece, it all sounds a bit like the Rose of Tralee – but even scarier.
From such a scenario O’Neill has created a picture of young womanhood tortured by misogynistic demands and societal expectations into a grotesque caricature, overly concerned with their appearance, their sexual attractiveness and their standing with their peers.
This is, fundamentally, an extremely serious book, although along the way are pointed witty asides on today’s obsessions with the absurd trivia of our pop-culture world. Labelling it dystopian merely makes for facile categorisation: it has a much sharper focus than the term generally implies...'
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