“It is 1939, the outbreak of World War Two, and ten year old Ryan Brannigan newly arrived from Ireland experiences the horrors and excitement of war. A rebellious lad in conflict with the parish priest, Father O’Donnell, his teachers, and his father, as well as the Church, he forms an uneasy relationship with Nadina Brown, a vulnerable, ultra-religious, highly sensitive, intelligent girl of the same age. Ryan’s father, Fergus, an armchair warrior of the IRA due to a wound sustained in the Easter Rising of 1916, strongly suspects the priest of abusing the girl, though she strenuously denies it.
Convinced that she is scared to tell the truth, he hurries round to the presbytery to find O’Donnell gone back to Ireland and a priest to replace him arriving the very next day. Angry and frustrated, Fergus rushes to the police station to demand action, but his complaints are contemptuously dismissed.
Ryan, confused over the turn of events has taken a thorough dislike towards Nadina. But soon he will discover the truth and his compassion for her and desire for revenge will know no bounds.
EXTRACTS FROM BOOK I
CHAPTER ONE:
11 a.m. Sunday , September 3rd. 1939
“You devil, you!”
From the depths of the armchair Fergus stretched out his arm to the table. Enveloped in blue cigarette smoke, his fingers searched for their target. Finding it, his hand shaped slowly into a fist, then banged down on the flat top of the wireless set. …..
Gathering closer, the family strained to listen to the nervous, high-pitched tone of the speaker that faltered ad threatened to fade away altogether. it was a momentous announcement. They had missed Sunday Mass to hear it. And, like millions of others glued to their sets that Sunday morning, Fergus guessed what was coming. “Jaysus! Get the hell on with it, you stupid idiot…..
Surprisingly perhaps, after the second strike with his big fist, the voice of Neville Chamberlain rallied, battling static interference to deliver his message to the citizens of the United Kingdom and the subject peoples of the Empire that he had failed in his mission. With a final clearing of his throat, the thin, quavering voice ended with the doom laden words: “I have to tell you now, this nation is at war with Germany.”
Available Now…
RYAN’S JOURNEY II – Teen Years
Coming Soon…
RYAN’S JOURNEY III – Adulthood
Each book is a separate story – complete in itself though linked to the others.
Praise for Ryan’s Journey
‘I really liked the narrative voice in this novel. The writing was rhythmic and the characters, setting and sense of the time period were very vivid. Although abuse is the central theme, it is also about family and growing up. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of Ryan’s father and the atmospheric scenes inside their house. Well-drawn characters and a distinctive sense of time and space.’
‘John Barnes is a great writer!’