The First World War through Willie’s innocent eyes in ‘A Long Long Way’

Abstract

The Irish writer Sebastian Barry’s novel A Long Long Way (2005), brings as its theme a historical event which the Irish republican narrative prefers not to give visibility – the participation of Ireland in the First World War as part of the British Empire army. This article aims at demonstrating that the writer’s authorial project, inspired by the nationalist historical revisionism, gives visibility to non-hegemonic and non-official points of view, reflecting this way the complex nature of the independence process and the political affiliations that preceded it. It also suggests that theorization about the trauma novel, as developed by Granofsky (1995) may enlighten the understanding of the construction of Barry’s novel protagonist.