The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien

O’Brien’s first novel is a coming of age story, with autobiographical elements, about Caithleen Brady and her frenemy, Baba Brennan; two girls from rural Ireland who yearn for something not available at home. Cait’s mother dotes on her but does not protect her or prepare her for life, perhaps because she cannot protect herself from a drunken, spendthrift husband. Cait is conscious that she doesn’t have the possessions her friend does: nice clothes, for example, or a bicycle. Baba always wants more, however, and helps herself in a very unattractive way to what she wants – she takes the flowers Cait picked for their teacher so she can present them, she snatches biscuits from the Bradys’ kitchen although she must know how little the family has, and she ends up with Mrs. Brady’s rings. She is a vivid but unlikable character while Cait is dreamy but annoyingly passive.

The story is told from Cait’s point of view but it isn’t always clear if we are getting all of her motivation. Is she just an innocent girl, whose striking red hair and pale skin makes all the men in her life seek kisses (or more), or is she just as determined to get her way as Baba? After all, the only man she avoids is her father, although I suspect her crush on a neighbor known to all as Mr. Gentleman is primarily a search for a more satisfying father figure than the one she has.

I went into a big church at the corner, to have three wishes. We were told we had three wishes whenever we went into a new church. The holy water wasn’t in a font like at home, but there was a drop at the end of a narrow tap, and I put my finger under it and blessed myself. I wished that Mama was in heaven, that my father would never drink again, and that Mr. Gentleman would not forget to come at one o’clock.*

Cait has earned a scholarship to the same convent boarding school that Baba will be attending, and they spend several years there before Baba (not a strong student) engineers their expulsion. By then, the nuns should have known the two girls well enough to realize Cait was probably not the culprit.

Next stop, Dublin! Baba’s parents have basically given Cait a home when she needed one and they probably think she will be a good influence on Baba when the girls head for the big city: Baba to take a secretarial course and Cait to work in a grocery store. Baba makes no secret of the fact that she wants a glamorous lifestyle: a boyfriend to take her out to dinner and buy her nice things and, despite her flaws, always tries to come up with two men so that Cait benefits too. Cait is revolted by the unattractive men Baba produces and maintains her relationship with Mr. Gentleman from home, who is married and should be ashamed of himself. Both girls are becoming aware of their sexuality, and this caused scandal when the book was first published.

This reminded me a lot of My Brilliant Friend, the Elena Ferrante series. Both involve intense female friendships and capture the rivalry and betrayals that are part of some relationships. They are set in approximately the same time: one in 1950s Ireland and one in post WWII Naples. Both involve male-dominated society where the girls believe they need to escape from their small communities in order to be fulfilled. I did not really like either series, mostly because the characters were unappealing. I was surprised that the Brennans let the girls move to Dublin without inspecting the set-up but probably no educational institution or landlady would have been able to restrain Baba. And you know what they used to say, "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?"

This was my selection for Reading Ireland Month, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. I also chose it as my book group’s March selection because I am planning a trip to Ireland.  I believe my ancestors are from County Clare (like Cait and Baba) and Waterford.

* Similarly, when I was little my father told me you get a wish when you visit a new church. Why three wishes in Ireland and only one in Massachusetts??

Title: The Country Girls
Author: Edna O’Brien
Publication: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, paperback, 1960
Genre: Fiction
Source: Library