![]() He goes as far as inviting Angela to a toe curlingly socially awkward dinner that he revels in, asking Phoebe to come over to see if it is April. Quirke, being an obstinate and stubborn fellow, can't let it go, something he will live to regret as he opens a can of worms that is slowly and inevitably going to spiral into tragedy. Could it be April going under the name of Dr Angela Lawless? Banville paints a complex and intimate picture of their marriage and love, but a serpent is about to enter their paradise when Quirke thinks he recognises a ghost from the past and an old Irish scandal, a friend of his daughter, Phoebe, April Latimer, dead at the hands of her brother, Oscar. So there they are in Franco's Spain, at the beautiful Basque coastal town of San Sebastian, with Quirke who can't quite trust his happiness as he frets and wonders if Evelyn will leave him. The curmudgeon and old soak that is Quirke is not a man for holidays, but he is a married man, dare one even say happily married, to the Austrian psychiatrist, Evelyn, and she is a force of nature in her own right. ![]() John Banville writes his latest historical offering in the Dr Quirke, Irish State Pathologist series under his own name, featuring DI Strafford from Snow in a minor yet instrumental role. Banville has two daughters from his relationship with Patricia Quinn, former head of the Arts Council of Ireland.īanville has a strong interest in vivisection and animal rights, and is often featured in Irish media speaking out against vivisection in Irish university research. Dunham described him during the writing process as being like "a murderer who's just come back from a particularly bloody killing". They met during his visit to San Francisco in 1968 where she was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. Banville has two adult sons with his wife, the American textile artist Janet Dunham. His first novel under this pen name was Christine Falls, which was followed by The Silver Swan in 2007. In 1984, he was elected to Aosdána, but resigned in 2001, so that some other artist might be allowed to receive the cnuas.īanville also writes under the pen name Benjamin Black. ![]() Banville has been a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books since 1990. The Irish Times, too, suffered severe financial problems, and Banville was offered the choice of taking a redundancy package or working as a features department sub-editor. He was appointed literary editor in 1998. His first book, Long Lankin, was published in 1970.Īfter the Irish Press collapsed in 1995, he became a sub-editor at the Irish Times. On his return to Ireland he became a sub-editor at the Irish Press, rising eventually to the position of chief sub-editor. He took advantage of this to travel in Greece and Italy. I wanted to be free." After school he worked as a clerk at Aer Lingus which allowed him to travel at deeply-discounted rates. I regret not taking that four years of getting drunk and falling in love. Banville has described this as "A great mistake. Despite having intended to be a painter and an architect he did not attend university. His sister Vonnie Banville-Evans has written both a children's novel and a reminiscence of growing up in Wexford.Įducated at a Christian Brothers' school and at St Peter's College in Wexford. He is the youngest of three siblings his older brother Vincent is also a novelist and has written under the name Vincent Lawrence as well as his own. His father worked in a garage and died when Banville was in his early thirties his mother was a housewife. Sumptous, propulsive and utterly transporting, April in Spain is the work of a master writer at the top of his game.īanville was born in Wexford, Ireland. A relentless hit man is on the hunt for his latest prey, and the next victim might be Quirke himself. Unable to ignore his instincts, Quirke makes a call back home to Ireland and soon Detective St. She was murdered by her brother, years ago-the conclusion to an unspeakable scandal that shook one of Ireland's foremost political dynasties. When he glimpses a familiar face in the twilight at Las Acadas bar, it's hard at first to tell whether his imagination is just running away with him.īecause this young woman can't be April Latimer. On the idyllic coast of San Sebastian, Spain, Dublin pathologist Quirke is struggling to relax, despite the beaches, cafés and the company of his disarmingly lovely wife. Booker Prize winner John Banville returns with a dark and evocative new mystery set on the Spanish coast
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