A Swift Pure Cry

infobox Book |
name = A Swift Pure Cry


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Siobhan Dowd
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
genre = Children's
publisher = David Fickling Books
pub_date = 2 March 2006
pages = 320
isbn = ISBN 9780385609708

"A Swift Pure Cry " is a 2006 novel by Siobhan Dowd about a teenager named Shell who lives in County Cork, Ireland.

Plot summary

"A Swift Pure Cry" opens a year after the mother of fifteen year old Michelle "Shell" Talent dies, leaving her husband and three children to cope with her death. The eldest of the children, Shell is given the responsibility to care for her younger siblings as well at continue attending school as their father changes drastically.

When a new priest, Father Rose, comes to their village, Coolbar, Shell begins to believe once again in Jesus and in her mother’s spirit. However, her father is also changed by religion; he quits his job to only collect money for church drives, leaving Shell and her family in poverty. At school, Shell’s only friends are Declan, the alter boy, and Bridie, another misfit teen.

As Shell feels more and more isolated from a normal family life, she becomes involved with Declan, who makes her promise not to tell anyone, so he can continue seeing Bridie as well. Unfortunately, Declan abandons both girls for America, leaving Shell pregnant and alone. She manages to hide the pregnancy from her father and gives birth to a still born child around Christmas, whom she names Rose, for the priest.

Around the same time another baby is found dead, killed by exposure, and Shell is under suspicion of abandoning her child. The town is in an uproar, as is the rest of Ireland and Shell finds comfort in Father Rose’s help. However, Father Rose believes Shell’s father to be the baby’s father and the town believe that Father Rose is the father.

In the end, it is revealed that Bridie was also pregnant from Declan and gave birth around the same time as Shell, but her child survived. Faced with pressure and despair, she left her child outside to die. Concluding, Shell returns to school and Father Rose is transferred to another location in Ireland for training.

Characters

Shell: The fifteen year old main character of "A Swift Pure Cry." She is intelligent, but unmotivated and is often bitter about her father’s role in the family. She misses her mother and maintains religious behavior.

Trix: Shell’s younger sister who attends a primary school along with Jimmy. She is very innocent and childlike, enjoying games and songs, while at the same time capable of acting mature for her age.

Jimmy: Shell’s younger brother, age nine. Jimmy has his mother’s talent for playing music, but is very hot tempered at times. He, like Trix, can handle situations that are dangerous.

Mr. Talent: Shell’s father. He previously was a level headed man. However, when his wife died, he fell into alcoholism and religious collecting. Because of his alcoholic habits, he believes that he is Shell’s child’s father.

Father Rose: The young, twenty five year old priest, new to Coolbar. He is described as having a friendly and personal manner, while at the same time able to seriously discuss religion and Christianity. The town folk don’t trust him completely and find way of teaching suspect. Because of this, his relationship with Shell is often strained.

Bridie: Shell’s teenage friend. Birdie is considered to be a rebel in the school, but an outcast too. She steals regularly from the town’s stores and also smokes. She also is having sex with Declan and possibly runs away to Cork. She is pregnant and it is her baby in the cave.

Declan: The slightly older altar boy from Coolbar that Shell engages in a relationship. He is cheerful and playful, with a knack for creating mini poems. After sleeping with Shell for several months, he leaves her for America, where he eventually remembers Shell and writes to her. He is a player, having sex with Bridie and Shell.

Rose: Is the baby of Shell, is named after Father Rose. Died very soon and half sister of the dead half brother

Comments/Response

All criticism, both positive and negative, from this section is from Borders.com.

One reader says that A Swift Pure Cry "uses Irish dialect and lyrical prose to draw the reader into Shell's world. Her courage and faith shine clearly through this heartbreaking tale."

Another reader on Amazon says that they were grateful that "this story addressed some serious issues that involve both teens and adults. It was also a story that we as adults and teens can relate to rather that some hyped-up Hollywood film relaying an idealistic fantasy or an against-all-odds romance."

Another review describes the book as "not a typical fictional example of the dire consequences of teen rebellion. With its lyrical prose and no-holds-bar of emotional turmoil is a heartbreaking yet hopeful family drama centered on a young woman as she struggles to care for her family while trying to understand the life her Mam left behind."

Awards

* Eilis Dillon Award for "first-time children's author"
* Longlisted for Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
* Shortlisted for Booktrust Teenage Prize and the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize
* Currently, 2007, shortlisted for as well 2007 Carnegie Medal, the Branford Boase Award and the Sheffield Children's Book Awards
* "25 authors of the future" by Waterstones Books

Inspiration

According to the author's website, A Swift Pure Cry was inspired by two separate incidents in Ireland. The first event occurred in 1984 when a fifteen year old girl died from blood loss and exposure while trying to give birth on her own. Critic blamed her death on the town folk who failed to give her guidance and aide. The second incident (Kerry Babies) involved a woman in her 20s giving birth to a child, rumored to be the result of an affair with a married man, and a baby being found stabbed to death around the same time. Like in A Pure Swift Cry, controversy arose over if the woman killed her child and if she didn't, who the second child belonged to.

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/s?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=a+swift+pure+cry A Swift Pure Cry on Borders]
* [http://www.siobhandowd.co.uk/ Siobhan Dowd's Website]
* [http://www.siobhandowd.co.uk/siobhan/ Siobhan Dowd's Biography]
* [http://www.siobhandowd.co.uk/swift/reviews/ A Swift Pure Cry Reviews]