Napanee’s Bruce Sudds, author of Ain’t Nothin’ But A Stranger In This World, is back with his second novel, The Song of O’Sullivan’s Chain, which explores the often overlooked issues and legacy of the Irish diaspora in the Kingston area.
“The novel is near and dear to me as I felt compelled to write about the people and this place, as they are often overlooked in Canadian literature,” said Sudds. “That always surprised me – how little I found books about this area. In particular, I wanted to tell the story of the Irish community here, especially on the local islands – Wolfe, Simcoe and Amherst. I grew up with some pretty wild stories of courage and loss, with unique characters and a few outlaws. I also watched so many women in my community struggle against the limitations put on them and the subtle and overt ways others attempted to control them. I wanted to capture that, as well.”
The Montreal Review of Books has noted the book offers ‘moving descriptions of Eire’s [Ireland’s] wayward sons and daughters yearning for a sense of belonging in the world.’
Bruce Sudds
“In my first novel, I wanted to examine the issues of grief and trauma. I wanted to extend this approach to the struggles I see in my Irish family and the broader Irish community because the rates of mental health issues are typically higher in Irish communities and the book explores this,” said Sudds. “In many ways, I’m interested in the inner lives of men and the outer lives of women. And by that, I mean how men move through their emotional and psychological lives. We don’t often see that in literature – and the world – and we need it to have healthier men that can have positive roles in families and communities.”
Sudds is also interested in the history of the Irish in the area. The book addresses the great wave of Irish that arrived during the famine; they were desperate, ill, malnourished, unprepared, and often unwelcome. Some 1,400 died on the shores near modern-day Kingston General Hospital in what were called fever sheds – impromptu shacks created for patients. The bodies were buried unceremoniously and in unmarked mass graves that only in recent years have received any attention. In fact, the hospital had tried to develop the land in the past, ignoring that it was a burial ground.
“This was particularly troubling for me,” Sudds added. “Members of my family may have been buried there. There are few records but from what I have found, it is plausible. Regardless, it’s a vital part of our history that needs to be told and the implications understood and I attempt to do that in the book.”
The novel also addresses the unique approach to language in the Irish community.
“When I first began to read Irish literature and watch Irish films,” Sudds notes, “I was surprised how the use of language seemed familiar, even in my own family here in Canada. There are speech patterns that note a certain way of operating in the world, and obviously the musicality and wit of the Irish. I wanted to capture all that in the book.”
The Song Of O’Sullivan’s Chain will be released on Nov. 30 by AOS Publishing.