Red Sky in Morning: A Novel
The first novel by Irish author Lynch, based in part on historical events, traces the path of Coll Coyle from County Donegal to rural Pennsylvania during the late nineteenth century. By doing so, it bears comparison to Colum McCann’s Transatlantic (2013). In a nasty (though civil on Coyle’s part) confrontation to forestall eviction, Coll causes the death of his “master,” the landlord Hamilton, prompting Coll to flee. As the landlord’s ruthless agents, led by the malevolent Faller, pursue Coll across the Irish countryside and, inexplicably, to America, and as they brutalize those aiding him, including his brother, Lynch creates scenes that are almost ­nauseatingly hateful and graphic, though rendered in startlingly beautiful prose, not unlike the themes and style of Cormac McCarthy. The transoceanic passage that Coll endures is harrowing, and the vicious and exploitative railroad labor system in America, exacerbated by a cholera outbreak, adds to the unremitting terror of his plight. This is strong stuff by a promising young author. --Mark Levine