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)

Deeply Moving

My introduction to Barry's work. A deeply moving story, astonishing prose, beautifully narrated. I'll be listening to more of this author.

Good Story

I enjoyed this story but it took me a couple readings to figure one character from another. It is a good story though.

Enjoyed every aspect of The Secret Scripture

If you could sum up The Secret Scripture in three words, what would they be?

Three words to sum up The Secret Scripture? Well, endearing, shocking, graceful.

What did you like best about this story?

I sincerely loved dear old Roseanne.

Have you listened to any of Wanda McCaddon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I had not listened to Wanda McCaddon's performances prior to this, but I won't hesitate to purchase any audiobook narrated by her. She is a fantastic narrator, switching up dialogues seamlessly, speaking at a steady pace, pauses and inflections were perfect. A true delight to listen to Ms McCaddon perform The Secret Garden.

Who was the most memorable character of The Secret Scripture and why?

Roseanne was the most memorable character, although it was easy enough to develop a fondness for (almost) all of the characters. To find out why, well, you'll need to listen!

Any additional comments?

This is a true keeper. So glad I purchased The Secret Scripture.

Not my kind or book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I don't like books where they change characters back and forth to tell the same story in the first person. I stopped listening after about an hour.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The subject matter was not to my taste - an aging woman in an institution and memories of when she was young and beautiful. All the weird stuff in her childhood.

Which character – as performed by Wanda McCaddon – was your favorite?

I didn't have a favorite.

Do you think The Secret Scripture needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I can't really speak to that since I didn't finish this one.

Any additional comments?

It might be quite a good book - I just didn't care for it - a matter of taste.

Very deep and thought provoking

I felt so much sorrow for the main character while listening to this book that I was becoming a bit depressed! The story is touching. I thought that I might start crying or hit something to ease my frustration. The ending unexpected and helped me to resolve some of the sorrow that I felt for the character. Narration is quite good although I think I would have preferred a female voice during some of it at least. I felt that there may have been some anti-Catholic sentiment by the author during part of the book but after having completed the book I believe that the author was simply reflecting the true sentiments of the time.

Takes a long time to get going, but then worth it.

I think it was not until about the second half when I started to get interested in this book. Many said they liked it, so I held on as if for dear life & it finally lived up to its promise. I love how the story actually is a circle of sorts, & how the female protagonist is finally SORTA SPOILER ALERT! vindicated, after a life of utter awfulness. And how the priest is shown for who he was. I do think the narrator added to the boredom I felt with the first half; I've heard her in other books - certainly nothing offensive in her voice - but it kind of makes me bored/sends me into a stupor, after a while.

It is sad, but in Ireland in those times - & up until fairly recently (at least a third through my life) - priests were The Rule in their parishes & so many were pretty freaking cruel, petty, & legalistically (religion-wise) vainglorious. This is not a reflection or condemnation/judgement on the Catholic Church as a whole (please don't take it that way!!), but on those men during that time in that place (though the Catholic Church could appear pretty darned anti-woman during that time, too, but w/some compassion, which the priests of whom I speak appeared to have none). Not every priest there was like this of COURSE, but a large amount - enough to develop a culture of this thinking & action - from speaking w/many, many people & from reading great mounds of documents & historical tomes (stories like "Philomena" corroborate this, too). These men worked by deciding what THEY thought was right & proper & deciding who THEY thought were damned (& acting accordingly), rather than prayerfully asking for God's will to be done & leaving judgement to Him. Some of the reason for this is explained, in the book, via the politics after independence, which gave the priests - even put them so they had to take on - much more power in that arena than I believe Pope Francis would ever agree is healthy or holy - or what their mission entailed. ("Did it w/the best of intentions" is one of the most odious sentences in the English language, I believe. Nope - means YOU did what YOU wanted, w/o true thoughtfulness & compassion & definitely not what the "helpee" wanted or needed; just a way to make one look pious & give one a way of playing the victim if that "help" was not wanted.) All that time & way of being is distilled into the female protagonist's life, & done well. So, this novel can also be looked at as part historical, as well as the story of torment & redemption & acceptance &...some compassion coming to one man - late, perhaps, but still there when he could still use it (though I don't agree with his SPOILER ALERT! decision to not tell her!!!)

I would not suggest using a whole credit for this, but if under maybe $8, this would be an interesting listen to someone who likes early-20th Century Irish (Republic Of, esp.) stories with a bit of history thrown in.

Better to read than to listen

The narrator doesn't attempt to change her voice when swithing between characters which makes it a bit confusing.

Good story but a bit hard to follow

It jumps around a lot and I had trouble keeping track of who was who and when it was. This may have been due to the audio nature of the book and not being able to look back for clarity. The accent of the reader was tough at first but in the end I felt it went well with the story.

Very engrossing story !

Most of the time I'm listening to an audiobook . This one really caught me by surprise though. It's written with so much hidden emotion. I could only think of it as a Charles Dickens type novel. So much tragedy, no acceptance, and the descriptions were beautiful. I honestly would recommend to any adult. It was set in the late 1800s to late 1900. From what was understood the sweet little lady was 100 years old. Loved the narrator. Always love Sebastian Barry.

Read it a second time to savor again

I purchased this book several years ago. It was only my second book from Audible.com. Because it is a complicated story, it took a great deal of concentration to keep track of all the players. I just re-read it and this time it was pure pleasure. This time I could appreciate the richness of the writing and the beauty of narration. One of the very best!