sebastian barry days without end summary

When they are not fighting, the troopers pass the time by playing cards and bonding, which helps them forget their hunger and make it through the cold winter. The attack is brutal and violent, but Thomas finds this oddly satisfying. One of their first attacks is on the Yurok people, prompted when some European settlers in the nearby town of Fort Kearney complain about them. They are commissioned to fight in the Indian wars, a series of armed conflicts against Native American groups. When Thomas is 17, the pair enroll in the army. Thomas and John Cole’s friendship deepens into an intimate relationship, which they hide from the public.

They travel together to a mining town called Daggsville, where they are hired to dance and act like women in a saloon owned by a man named Titus Noone. From this moment onwards, they become inseparable. Thomas meets a boy his age, John Cole, when they both seek shelter under the same hedge. As a 13-year-old orphan, he joined a wave of Irish emigrants who travelled to America in search of a better life, a grueling journey that took him first to Canada before settling in Missouri. Thomas is originally from the port town of Sligo, Ireland, but he lost his family during the Great Famine.

Set in America during the 1850s and 1860s, the novel opens with the narrator, Thomas McNulty, recounting his younger years as a soldier in the Indian wars. The Irish accent a pleasing bonus.The following version of this book was used to create this guide: Barry, Sebastian. The story is told entirely from Thomas's point of view. Aiden Kelly has the perfect voice as the narrator.

I enjoyed it very much, was never bored, and was sad when the story came to an end. And yet somehow Thomas and John are able to live through all the terrible times and remain men who have enough heart and soul to rescue an orphaned indian girl, raise her as their own, and make a home together. It was historically acurate in chilling cruel detail. The description of some of the acts of war were disturbing, but written in a way that felt essentially realistic for the times. Enduring famine, brutal winters, killing hot summers, lack of food, lack of water. They meet as young boys, and stay together, make a life together while living through the wild west wars, Indian wars, the Civil war. This is a beautifully written, at times even poetic historical story about Thomas McNulty and John Cole. ~~~mild spoiler~~~~ I feel sad for those listeners who turned this book away simply because it was the story of two men who loved each other and whose love perservered through good times and brutally horrific acts of war.

I can't write reviews well enough to convey what a treasure this book is. This is one of my top favorite listens in a very very long time. Lyrical, poignant, brutally violent historical.

Sebastian barry days without end summary