Citizens
Kevin Curran
Liberties Press
Kevin Curran’s second novel, Citizens, tells the story of Neil, an apathetic Irishman in his twenties whose plans to emigrate are disturbed by the death of his grandfather. Familiar themes are made clever and refreshing through the interspersed narrative of Neil’s great-grandfather Harry, who participated in the Easter Rising. Delaying his departure to Canada, where his girlfriend Kathy awaits, Neil impatiently reads Harry’s letters to his ailing grandmother, desperate to get his share of the will. As he realises the letters may have monetary value, an interest in his family’s past begins to surface.
While the novel ostensibly tells two stories, it gradually builds to brilliantly portray the human interdependency that an entire nation is built upon. Peripheral figures become central in the right contexts. At times, certain characters – like Neil’s harrowingly greedy uncles – border on caricatures. Neil and Kathy themselves are occasionally disgusting, yet frustratingly familiar. They represent a generation in which all value is conceptualised in economic terms: genuine humanity only lurks in ephemeral thoughts. Neil persists in explaining to his grandmother that ‘Wealth is what defines you, not your passport or where you’re from. Nothing else matters.’ But to achieve personal growth and understand the value of history, he must attempt to realise: we’re *citizens*, not merely ‘taxpayers’. And so the literary statements of the 1916 centenary begin. This is a poignant proclamation.
Words: Peter Morgan
