Ryan Dennis – The Beasts They Turned Away

I have stated on this blog quite a few times that I am a fan of books which portray the savage side of nature. Thus, it comes to no surprise that I was drawn to Ryan Dennis’ The Beasts They Turned Away. Although the book does tackle the topic a bit differently.

The main protagonist is Íosac Mulgannon. In the opening chapter of the book he is some sort of bovine graveyard with a child who appears mute. After telling the child to stop playing with the dead animals, he places a cow skull on the child’s head, which he wears for the majority of the novel. This little description is a tiny idea of what to expect.

The plot of the book is about Íosac trying to protect the child from certain villagers who think it is cursed. To make matters worse Íosac’s is just the child’s caretaker so he has to constantly stop people from wanting to take him away. To be brutally honest, this is not a book about plot. A lot of the chapters are about daily life on the farm, from ploughing the field to milking cows. As this is a book about nature, life and death feature. There are themes though.

One main theme is modernisation. Characters approach Íosac to help him modernize the farm, one scene in particular which involves cow vaccinations stick out. Íosac is frugal in nature and prefers not to spend even if it involves double the work, which, most the time he’s capable of doing, much to the atonishment of his fellow farmers.

Another aspect of the book, I liked was the relationship between Íosac and the child. There’s something warm about it. Íosac may appear to be gruff and bad tempered but he does soften up when he’s dealing with the boy and it does show his more humane side.

The Beasts They Turned Away is a powerful book. There are brutal moments and ugly ones as well. However, there a flashes of tenderness and one can’t help but sympathise with Íosac’s battle to avoid modernisation. It is oddly humane. The book is also memorable, I can guarantee that every scene will stick in your brain some way. As debut novels go, this one is a powerhouse.

Many thanks to Epoque for providing a copy of The Beasts They Turned Away