A Swift Pure Cry
First edition cover
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| Author | Siobhan Dowd |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult |
| Publisher | David Fickling Books |
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Publication date
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2 March 2006 |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 62475200 |
A Swift Pure Cry is a 2006 novel by Siobhan Dowd about a teenager named Shell who lives in County Cork, Ireland. It won the 2007 Branford Boase Award and the Eilís Dillon Award.
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 used to be 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 do not trust him completely and find his 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: Shell's stillborn baby, named after Father Rose. Half sister of the baby in the cave.
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."
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