The Secret Scripture

By: Sebastian Barry

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Roseanne McNulty, once one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland, is now an elderly patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. As her 100th year draws near, she decides to record the events of her life, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards.

Meanwhile, the hospital is preparing to close and is evaluating its patients to determine whether they can return to society. Dr. Grene, Roseanne's caretaker, takes a special interest in her case. In his research, he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne's life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves. Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal, and unavoidable tragedy.

©2008 Sebastian Barry (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Above all it is the surpassing quality of Mr. Barry's language that gives it its power....It is like a song, with all the pulse of the Irish language, a song sung liltingly and plaintively from the top of Ben Bulben into the airy night." ( New York Times)

Unlikely but still delightful to hear

The story of a psychiatrist and an elderly patient told through their notes and listened to on my Audible App. Often confusing thanks to the numerous names and characters, and also due to the span of time covered by their memories, but so fun to hear from a reader with a heavy Irish accent. I can’t say what might have lessened the confusion. I do recommend the book as it ends so well and also give a glimpse of historical information in the era during wartime years in Ireland.

interesting story line

liked the basic story but way toooooo many unnecessary details & often became confusing as to who was talking - Dr or Roseanne. Narrator needed to change voice or have 2 separate narrators.

Small story on a big stage

While this story is placed in a time of great turmoil among nations and within communities, this is a very small story of its time - almost the opposite of an epic during epic times. Ireland between the two World Wars had its own Civil War, agonizingly dealing with changes on the political scene, yet this story shows how the people were still dealing with the ancient morals and superstitions that had guided them for centuries. Perhaps because of the sociopolitial uncertainties, clinging to the familiar may have felt like the only safety afforded small vulnerable villages. Roseanne is one such vulnerable person, spending the vast majority of her adult life institutionalized in an asylum, the reason for which has been lost to time and missing records. As she writes her own memoirs for whomever may find them in the future, we see the tragic events that have lead her to where she is, helpless in the face of religious and legal forces wielded by a zealous priest and unsympathetic family. Parallel to her diary, we learn of a record written by that same priest telling her story, but with many differences. Who is right? Are either of them right?

This poignant story explores choices made, their motivations and interpretations, the reliability of memory and ultimately the relevance of memory once fate has taken a hand. The narrative focuses mainly on two characters: Roseanne and Dr. Grene, her psychiatrist who is trying to discover why she has been incarcerated for over 60 years. We meet through her writings and his research the supporting characters who have impacted her life since childhood, but Roseanne is the heart of her own story. 4 stars instead of 5 because I wished to understand some of these supporting characters better.

I think I might have had a harder time getting swept into this story without the beautiful reading by Wanda McCaddon. Her voice becomes Roseanne's, especially at age 100, and she also gives us a moving portrayal of Dr. Grene, trying to do the right thing after failing to see the humanity of this ancient lady entrusted to his care for so many years.

On the nature of memory

An aging Irish mental hospital is being shuttered, and its aging population is being evaluated, either for release to freedom or transfer to another facility. The doctor becomes fascinated by one centenarian who doesn't seem mad...but the story she tells of her life is very different from the one told by the Catholic priest who colluded in having her committed. How much of memory can be trusted? The mind can 'remember' things to protect itself. Memories can be shaped by one's need to support a particular narrative.
Northern Ireland's "troubles" and the powerful Catholic Church form the backdrop of this story, where painful memories and secrets conflate good and evil in the two narratives.
Some reviewers complain about the 'Deus ex machina' ending, but I think maybe they forget what a small and insular place N Ireland was.
The narrator is great. Only 4 stars because the brogue was a little hard to get used to, and her voice is too feminine for the male part.

Secret Scripture

I absolutely loved the telling of this tale. Wonderful story read beautifully. As with any really good book, I was sorry that it had to end.

Excellent, Kept Me So Interested - Great Narrator

This is an amazing story, a great journey, a fantastic outcome and a wonderful narrator.

A precious gem of a performance

... of a gem of a book. It's as much by Wanda McCaddon as by Sebastian Barry. A perfect gem of art.

Beautiful storytelling

I loved the story as well as the narrator. The characters were rich, vivid and they came alive beautifully in my head. The best book I have listened to since American Gods, although they are totally different types of books.

A gem!

A moving story of a time where social/ religious injustices were all too common place. So sad yet heart warming.

wonderful

it took about 30 minutes to get into the book, maybe a little bit more. It was so good. The characters were rich and 3 dimensional. It was very gripping. The characters just seemed so real and so present. The reader was great. It was like being told a family story from an older relative. Really rewarding literature.