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‘All things considered, I wonder if shooting that policeman made me the man that I am?’
In this masterful new work, award-winning author Theo Dorgan has written a philosophical thriller of extraordinary depth. An Irishman in Paris considers the weight and impact of a single violent act that forced him to flee Ireland forty years ago. When Vincent, a young Algerian friend, suggests Joseph should write his life story, Joseph embarks on a self-examination that will lay bare, perhaps only to himself, a singular and surprising life.
Set against the evocative backdrops of Paris and Cork, Camarade explores a life shaped by one fateful moment and the quiet violence of self-reckoning. The story unfolds in a dual timeline: Joseph’s present-day existence in Paris, with its muted rhythms and introspective solitude, and his youth in 1960s Ireland, raised on his grandfather’s stories of the Flying Column and revolution.
After one violent act, Joseph finds himself exiled in France during the turbulent decades of the Algerian Crisis and May ’68, where he discovers comradeship, unexpected freedom in careful neutrality.
As Joseph writes, he confronts the central question of his life: did a single act of life-changing violence make him who he is, or was he always destined to become this man?
Written in precise, contemplative prose, Camarade examines how we construct meaning from our past while questioning the nature of authenticity and self-awareness. At once, an intimate character study, a meditation on history, violence and the enduring impact of our choices. This novel asks us to consider the space between who we imagine we are destined to be and who we eventually become. Moving with the tension of a thriller while exploring profound philosophical questions, Camarade confirms Theo Dorgan’s place as one of our most thoughtful and elegant literary voices.
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“A brilliant evocation of the streetscapes and political tensions of 1950s Cork which expands out to encompass the changing politics of Europe over the following half century, Theo Dorgan’s superbly crafted Camarade shows how the ramifications of one single shot can echo across the decades and reshape the path of an entire life.”
Dermot Bolger
“I loved your novel. I finished it last night and it was like saying farewell to an old friend. It is beautifully written, by this I mean the description and social milieu and Cork and Paris all contain a density of reality that is the prerequisite of successful fiction. The characters and their interaction is first rate; that closing sequence/encounter between Joseph and Gen is brilliant, absolutely lovely, outdoing even McGahern in The Leavetaking or Jordan in the Past . . . In a real sense, although this is ultimately a political novel of Ethel Voynich proportions, it is the interpersonal relationships worked out over time (time passing is a key character) that gives the novel, as novel, its compelling charge. . . This is a great achievement, Theo. I salute you.”
Tom McCarthy
Theo Dorgan has written a superb philosophical treatise, a careful and thorough discussion on the meaning of a life, an Irish �migr� in Paris. The story weaves its way through the streets, culture and politics of Paris in the tumultuous second half of the 20th century. Born in Cork in 1940, our protagonist, the teenage Joseph, is forced to flee his country after a violent incident and decides to live in Paris with no thought of returning to his Irish roots. He calls Paris his home. But throughout his life, he is surrounded and protected by old soldiers of the International Brigade, including his grandfather in Cork – a Flying Column militiaman during the War of Independence and later a comrade of the International Brigade in Europe – and his fellow journeymen and journeywomen in Paris. In retracing Joseph's life in a quest to understand its meaning, Dorgan writes with an astonishing precision, erudition, and philosophising about such conditions and ideas as aloneness, friendships, comradeship, family, lovers and love, nationhood, political causes, death. His writing is underscored by a devilish humour, like the time that Joseph befriends a fellow Irishman in Paris by the name of Sam (presumably Beckett): “He never invited me to see a play, never gave me a present of one of his books. I returned his magnificent courtesy by never going to see one of his plays, taking care never to read one of his books”. Wicked!
I thoroughly enjoyed Camarade and would highly recommend it.
Denis Cronin
Camarade is a remarkable book about twentieth-century turmoil, both here in Ireland and in Europe. Theo Dorgan creates a set of memorable and admirable characters who have to deal with serious combat, in the War of Independence, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II in France. They do what is necessary in the light of their own ideals. The title refers to the left-wing greeting 'Comrade', but also to camaraderie, friendship. Never has it been so well explored over lifetimes for a set of people who stand for old-fashioned ideas like solidarity, equality and a belief that a better world is possible.
Catriona Crowe
Theo Dorgan needs no introduction, being one of Ireland's greatest poets and with a worldwide reputation for his work . . . However, his literary output has transcended poetry, and he is equally well-recognised for his prose. His latest work, Camarade, is a powerful novel which will bring his beautiful writing to a wider audience. Set against backdrops in Paris and Cork, the book asks questions of who we are. In the case of the central character, Joseph, it asks did a single act of violence, killing a policeman, make him who he is, or was this always his destiny?
The Farmers Journal – Leo Powell
| Dimensions | 215 × 135 cm |
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