Best of 2016: Thomas Murphy
On a Saturday in late May I volunteered at the Gaithersburg Book Festival in support of the Washington Independent Review of Books. While there, the editor in chief of the publication met an author whose book she loved. His name was Roger Rosenblatt. She strongly suggested that I pick up his slim novel “Thomas Murphy.”
I stopped by the book tent on my way out and picked it up. It only took me a few days to read the novel and less than that to fall in love with it.
Thomas Murphy is an Irish poet who lives on Inishmaan, one of the Aryan Islands. He’s a curmudgeon, the sort who doesn’t want to listen to his daughter as she worries over his forgetfulness and ponders what to do with his remaining years and rambles about the other residents of Inishmaan. There’s not much of a plot, just Murph’s thoughts and musings as he goes throughout his days. But this novel is hilarious, sharp, witty, and moving. Maybe part of the reason I loved it stems from my semester abroad in Ireland. Rosenblatt, with this novel, captures the beauty of the Motherland, as well as its melancholy.
I highly recommend this novel for anyone who likes a protagonist who has spirit, heart, and a general dislike of a lot of things. Thomas Murphy is not a character you will quickly forget.
Favorite quote: “You can betray in silence, brood in silence, envy, pity, plot, yearn, admire, condemn, lie to yourself, lie to your conscience, forgive yourself, forgive others, all in silence. Love. You can love in silence. You usually do.”
