 First edition | |
| Author | Sebastian Barry |
|---|---|
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
Publication date | 24 July 2011 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 272 pp (Hardback) |
| ISBN | 978-0-571-22653-5 |
| Preceded by | The Secret Scripture |
On Canaan's Side is a 2011 novel written by Irish playwright and novelist Sebastian Barry. [1]
The novel is narrated by the 89-year-old Lily Bere, the sister of Annie Dunne (2002) and Willie Dunne from A Long Long Way (2005), and the daughter of the character Thomas Dunne from The Steward of Christendom (1995), as she looks back on her life, having lived through the Irish War of Independence and escaped to Chicago with her boyfriend Tadg Bere. The Cleveland East Ohio Gas explosion of 1944 is referenced within the story and plays an important role in the plot.
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The winner of the Booker Prize receives international publicity which usually leads to a sales boost. When the prize was first created, only novels written by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African citizens were eligible to receive the prize; in 2014 it was widened to any English-language novel — a change that proved controversial. A seven person panel constituted by authors, librarians, literary agents, publishers, and booksellers is appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation.
The International Dublin Literary Award is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely sponsored by Dublin City Council, Ireland. At €100,000, the award is one of the richest literary prizes in the world. If the winning book is a translation, the prize is divided between the writer and the translator, with the writer receiving €75,000 and the translator €25,000. The first award was made in 1996 to David Malouf for his English language novel Remembering Babylon.
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Sebastian Barry is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2019–2021. He is noted for his lyrical literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers.
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