“Inspired in part by the Netflix series ‘Derry Girls’ (a sweet comedy about a gang of high school friends and their hijinks, set in the 1990s as The Troubles lurk in the background), I recently dove into ‘We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland,’ by Fintan O’Toole.
“O’Toole’s ‘personal history’ sets the year of his birth, 1958, as the bookend for a history that culminates in near present, in 2018, when Irish voters overwhelmingly voted to repeal the constitutional amendment banning abortion which they had overwhelmingly supported in 1983. Although O’Toole spends considerable time discussing ‘The Troubles’ (especially as they related to the reception and perception of the IRA in Ireland itself), his history is primarily focused on the Republic of Ireland and its culture of ‘deliberate unknowing’ and ‘two parallel universes’ of the ‘known/unknown.’
“Contraception was illegal until 1980 (and then, only for married couples), but prescriptions for ‘cycle regulators’ (i.e. birth control pills), surged after the pill became widely available in the 1960s. Abortion was a crime, but every year, thousands of women traveled to England to have abortions. Political corruption and sexual abuse of children ran rampant, but were erased by double-talk and obfuscation of reality.
“O’Toole’s book is a slow read, especially some of the sections on Irish politics, but worth savoring. What I found most interesting about ‘Ourselves’ was the constant pull to the present times in the United States, whether it be as I read about abortion and sexuality – including laws that criminalized telling a woman she could get an abortion in England – or through Fintan’s economic history, woven throughout the book, that explains how Ireland, which for decades counted its people as its major export, managed many obstacles to evolve into a modern country that provides opportunities and a future for young people, who never really wanted to leave, but felt they had no other choice – just like many young people in parts of Maine, along with the new Mainers arriving from around the world.” — DIANNE FALLON, Kittery Point
Mainers, please email to tell us about the book on your bedside table. In a paragraph or two, describe the book and be sure to tell us what drew you to it. Do your reading habits lighten up in summertime? Is the book on your nightstand a devour-in-a-single-afternoon beach read or a long, leisurely read you can delve into on long summer afternoons? We want to hear what you are reading and why. Send your selection to pgrodinsky@pressherald.com, and we may use it as a future Bedside Table.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
