The Origins of Benjamin Hackett
Gerald M. O’Connor
Feb. 6, 2017
Down & Out Books
ISBN: 978-1-943402-46-5 (paperback)
$16.95 (paperback)
Literary
Coming of Age
All families have secrets.
Most go untold…
In the summer of ‘96, Benjamin Hackett has come of age, technically. And in the midst of the celebratory hangover, his world is whipped out from under his feet. His parents have finally shared their lifelong secret with him; he’s adopted.
At the age of 18, the boy still has some growing up to do, and with the help of JJ, his loquacious consigliore and bodyguard, he embarks on an adventure that’ll put to bed a lifetime of lies.
Over the course of five days, they find themselves caught up in the darker side of Cork. But when they sweep through the misfits blocking their way and finally discover the truth of it…now that’s the greatest shock of all.
The Origins of Benjamin Hackett is a tender tale of heartache and displacement told through a wry and courageous voice. Set in Ireland, it’s a timely reminder that the world hasn’t moved on just as fast as we fancy. Now, in this emotionally charged story, Gerald M. O’Connor explores conditioned guilt and its consequences in a country still hiding from the sins of its past.
In the summer of ‘96, Benjamin Hackett has come of age, technically. And in the midst of the celebratory hangover, his world is whipped out from under his feet. His parents have finally shared their lifelong secret with him; he’s adopted.
At the age of 18, the boy still has some growing up to do, and with the help of JJ, his loquacious consigliore and bodyguard, he embarks on an adventure that’ll put to bed a lifetime of lies.
Over the course of five days, they find themselves caught up in the darker side of Cork. But when they sweep through the misfits blocking their way and finally discover the truth of it…now that’s the greatest shock of all.
The Origins of Benjamin Hackett is a tender tale of heartache and displacement told through a wry and courageous voice. Set in Ireland, it’s a timely reminder that the world hasn’t moved on just as fast as we fancy. Now, in this emotionally charged story, Gerald M. O’Connor explores conditioned guilt and its consequences in a country still hiding from the sins of its past.
The Origins of Benjamin Hackett is a unique adventure tale set in County Cork,
Ireland. The story introduces readers to a young man on the cusp of adulthood
whose parents reveal that he is adopted on his 18th birthday. This revelation
sends Benjamin on an unforgettable journey with a friend to find his birth
mother – and himself – before the people determined to keep his origins a
secret destroy his records forever.
O’Connor’s book draws on a time when the Catholic Church in Ireland would
quietly take children from mothers in convents and Magdalene Laundries and
deposit them into new homes, making it nearly impossible for these kids to find
their real parents. Attempts by children to find their birth parents were often
blocked by a dark web of secrecy and bureaucracy that, in many ways, still
continues to haunt the country today.
Brimming with unfathomable escapades, a motley crew of characters and a
healthy serving of Irish humor, O’Connor’s book is steeped in Irish culture
told in the inimitable Corkman’s brogue. Set in a time before the chaos of
modern digital culture, The Origins of
Benjamin Hackett takes a step back, allowing space for readers to escape
and think about the realities of growing up in a family founded on a lie. In
his stylish debut, O’Connor shows an amazing ability to paint heartbreak and
longing that will keep readers thinking about The Origins of Benjamin Hackett long after they finish the story.
Advance Praise For
The Origins of Benjamin Hackett
“‘The Origins of Benjamin Hackett’ by Gerald O'Connor is a raucous and
riotous coming-of-age story that is brutal, tender and hilarious.”
– Paul D. Brazill, author of A Case of Noir
and Guns of Brixton
“O’Connor doles out killer dialogue that adds
oodles of character to this hero’s journey. Told with the lilt and panache of
Joseph O’Connor and Dermot Bolger in their novels of the ‘90s, Gerald O’Connor
is the new and improved voice we've been waiting for.”
– Gerard Brennan, author of Undercover and
Wee Rockets
“Visceral writing that inherits a long Irish
tradition. O’Connor’s narrative contains sharp characterization, and has an
assured voice, while dramatizing conditioned guilt with humor and style.”
– Richard Godwin, author of Apostle
Rising, Mr. Glamour, One Lost Summer and others
“If you’re expecting the usual coming-of-age
tale, you’re in for a big shock. This is a tale big on heart and one which the
author, Gerald O’Connor, has hied religiously to the advice of Harry Crews for
writers, to ‘leave out the parts readers skip.’ None of those parts remain in
these pages. An auspicious debut!”
– Les Edgerton, author of The Death of
Tarpons, The Bitch, The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping, Bomb and others
GERALD M. O’CONNOR
is a native Corkonian, currently living in Dublin with his long-term partner,
Rosemarie, along with their three children. He writes character-driven novels
of various genres by night and is a dentist by day. When he isn’t glued to the
keyboard, he enjoys sci-fi films, spending time with his family and being
anywhere in sight of the sea. He is currently working on his second novel, The
Tanist.
An Interview with
Gerald M. O’Connor
The
Origins of Benjamin Hackett takes place in your hometown of Cork,
Ireland. For people who are not familiar with the region, what is it like and
why did it become the perfect setting for your book?
The
county of Cork is no small place. It is a big unwieldy organism that is almost
impossible to pin down without living it. I would need a year to decipher it
properly to do it justice, but even then I fear I would fail miserably. But you
did ask, and so I will try. First a few fun facts: Cork is known as the rebel
county. The Irish for Cork is Corcaigh
translated as “marsh” as it began life on a swampy estuary. We are best known
for Murphy’s stout, All-Ireland winning teams, a glorious coastline, a rich
vibrant history and our bullet-speed wit. As with all populated areas, there
are the good and the bad parts. The locals can swindle or charm you on the whim
of the weather, but at the heart of Cork is its inimitable character.
It
has the layers and complexities of an urban area with solid rural roots. It has
been the center of rebellion and republicanism for centuries. It was the only
place in Ireland the English could never truly tame. It is surrounded by the
Atlantic sea and has some of the sandiest beaches you will see the world over.
Some say God gave us foul weather to counterbalance the beauty. And I’m fine
with that, as it keeps the fair-weather types away! I firmly believe there is
no better place to be than down at Barley Cove beach when the summer is at
full-throttle, and the sun decides to shine. At the heart of Cork are the
locals, or Corkonians as we call ourselves. We are a fiercely loyal, bitingly
bright and determined people. I have never been in any other city where I have
felt that same burning sense of belonging than when I lived in Cork. If you are
from there, you will recognize the words I am saying as unadulterated facts. If
not, the county may sound like some Fenian stronghold that still thinks the War
of Independence rages.
In
our hearts and minds, we are unique, abandoned by those up in Dublin,
constantly fighting for our share of the pie, stuck at the bottom of an island
that’s barraged by sleet and rain. We are often negated or chastised as insular
or bull-headed, but we do not give a damn. Because we are proud of that
community mind, the hive mentality. If you ever come across a Cork man or woman
anywhere in the world, in any walk of life, I can wholeheartedly say that not a
single one will talk with anything but fondness for the county at the southern
tip of Ireland. I do not imagine there is a better plaudit than that as proof
of our county’s effect on its natives.
I
set the novel in Cork for various reasons. First, I know it better than any
other part of the world, so it was natural for me to use it as a setting. And
second of all, despite us having a host of fantastic writers from our city—Seán
Ó Faoláin, Frank O’Connor and Joseph O’Neill to name but a few—there is a real
lack of recent Cork-based Irish literature in comparison to other parts of
Ireland. I hope my writing this novel may have righted those scales a bit. But
predominantly I focused it on Cork because of the lilt of the locals, the
characters I have met and known throughout my life, and the sheer breath-taking
beauty of its landscapes and surrounds. To use the old adage, I wrote what I
know, and I know Cork.
What inspired you to write
a coming-of-age novel? Did your own childhood influence your characterizations
of Benjamin or JJ?
I
have always been drawn to these type of tales. In many ways, that period in
your life, when you are on the cusp of adulthood with all the hormones and
fears of the future spinning your head into glue, can be the most traumatic of
our lives. Having something that upends your sense of self is almost always a
shortcut to figuring out the convoluted mess of life. If stories are all about
trouble inducing change, I can think of no greater contrast in character than
the growth from child to adult. Setting a story in this borderland of life
always seems to be fertile ground for wild adventures. You can never get away
with the same level of naivety, or ill-considered actions, in someone other
than a youngster. Rip their idealized life apart and the reaction is nearly
always bedlam. I wanted the freedom to write a story fueled by the white hot
rage of teenagers. The coming-of-age adventure story allowed me to do so
without the rigid logic of maturity stifling the madness.
As
to whether or not my own childhood influenced the characterization of Benjamin
and JJ… in truth, I am not too sure. I know I did not consciously draw the
characters from my life growing up in Blarney. I was not adopted, nor did I
know anyone who was. I had a large group of friends from the estate and village
where I lived, but none bear any true resemblance to these characters. But we
are the sum of our experiences, and my childhood clearly influenced me in my
life, so there must be some subconscious part of me that comes out in those two
lads. If it is not in their stories then it is most likely in their camaraderie
and kinship and general outlook on life. I had a fantastic close-knit crew,
still do to this day in fact, and it would not surprise me if they saw threads
of themselves in the characters on the page. But rest assured, if they do, it
is by pure happenstance rather than design.
Your book tackles some
serious topics, including the main character’s quest to find his birth mother,
but you eloquently infuse the story with a bit of humor. How would you describe
your sense of humor, and how does it play a role in your novel?
As
with most of my fellow countrymen, my sense of humor is severely grounded in
self-deprecation first and foremost. I do not think anyone could survive
growing up in any parish in Cork without having that quality ingrained into
you. We use humor as a shield in Ireland, hiding our fears and insecurities
behind it, and as a weapon to bludgeon anyone with notions (people with an
inflated opinion of themselves). It is like a code in its own right, nuanced,
secretive and governed by rules only understood by those who grew up there.
Cork is a county dripping in good-humored mockery. And nothing is sacred.
Everyone and everything is a potential target.
Sometimes
we go too far, of course, and the line between genuine comedy and thinly-veiled
insults becomes this shady, intangible thing defined by the mood of the person
on the receiving end. But on the whole, we manage to strike the balance just
right. The general rule is this—if you ever find yourself on the sharper end of
our tongues, then you probably deserve it.
For
the uninitiated arriving in Cork, though, be warned. You had better do so
fully-armed for banter. We slag and hop the ball, mock and deride, and there is
nothing in the entire world that can savage your ego faster than a quick
one-liner from a Cork-born native who is in the mood for badness. And God help
you if they know you, because they will have total knowledge of all your weak
spots and will package their goading up into perfect bullet-shaped assassins
and riddle you senseless. If I ever get too big for my boots, all I have to do
is pop down to my local, and I’ll be righted within the hour.
So
as you can probably imagine, comedy is not a construct or a style choice used
for any particular reason in my novel. It is there simply because that is how
we behave in Cork. I could never have written a story set in my homeland
without infusing that quality into it. It would have been dishonest to my
roots.
Over the course of their
road trip, how do Benjamin and JJ develop as characters?
To
answer this truthfully would force me to spoil a lot of the surprises. So I am
reluctant to go into too much detail. Suffice it to say, at the start they are
at sea in life, unsure of what they want to do, as is the fate of many
teenagers the world over. JJ is the straight-man in many ways, loyal to a fault
and a lot more emotionally balanced than Benjamin. There is not too much in the
way of change for him from beginning to end. Benjamin, though, goes through a
large evolution in character. He does not cure himself completely, as he is
still naïve and reckless by the end. But his reaction to the adoption and his
ultimate decision at the close of the book shows how he has matured from a boy
to a man and begins to see the world through adult eyes. It is the natural arc
for a tale like this, really.
How does the history of
adoption in Ireland play a role in this story?
Adoption
plays a massive part. Benjamin’s story solely exists because of him being
secretly deposited into a new family without the knowledge of his birth mother.
The history of adoption in Ireland is a sore point and still very current. In
the mid-20th century having a baby out of wedlock in Ireland was
culturally unacceptable and would result in rejection by family, friends and
society in general. The stigma was so bad that many unmarried women would be
sent away to convents and Mother and Home facilities run by the church and
funded by the government. For example, in 1967 over 97% of all children born
out of wedlock were adopted and the vast majority were done without the full
knowledge and consent of the mother. I did an almighty amount of research into
it while writing this novel. It is funny in a way, because there’s barely the
thread of the facts I uncovered in the book. I think you could have a lifetime
of material if you researched the stories hidden behind the doors of those
convents and Mother and Baby homes.
What can you tell us about
your next book, The Tanist?
My new book is a
world apart from this one. It is a thriller set in a turbulent Celtic world,
drawing on the folklore and myths of the early 14th century in
Ireland. I cannot divulge too much as I am in the midst of finishing the first
draft, and a lot may change by the time I have a polished product ready for
publication. But The Tanist is a far
darker novel, devoid of humor and set in a violent and unforgiving time. The
tag line goes something like this: “Unjustly banished for murder, an innocent boy
must survive three impossible tests in a foreign land, before his city is
destroyed, his people enslaved and his freedom lost forever.”
