' AN IRISH ROSE BY A.J CRONIN ; REVIEW

- Yasir

 ' An Irish Rose ' is the wonderful creation of the renowned Scottish novelist, Archibald Joseph Cronin, popularly known as A.J Cronin. He usually speaks his own experiences through all his stories.

A.J Cronin acquaints a pure hearted Irish girl, Rose Donegan through 'An Irish Rose'.It was during a pilgrimage to Ireland, Cronin met her.

Rose was a teenager (at her 14) who solely took the family's responsibility, compelled by the drunkard father & to prosper her 4 young brothers. She always kept immense care in looking out her brothers especially the youngest one, Michael. She cleaned her home well & managed her errant Dad, Danny Donegan, saving his remnants of earnings. Cronin gives an apt description for Danny by this phrase itself,' A weak, utterly good-natured character '. She was an adorable mother for her little brothers.

Cronin found her, wearing teared clothes, holding Michael in her arms & the other three hanging about her skirt. The usage of words like Dreary,Skimpy,Squalor etc to show her worse appearance is quite appealing to the context. The contrasting description of her deep blue eyes with a serious little face makes the girl more complicated. She was daunted by nothing &  was not blind to the sights around her & this spirit made Cronin keeps on marvelling. He became  sympathetic to meet her & so he gifted a new dress, but she had to pawn it for giving milk to Michael.Cronin was astonished to see the love & affection she holds for her brother & wanted to see her in a better position, so he proposed her a job at his friend,Carrols home & in return, she accepted it with a condition of carrying Michael along with her. The expression that would have been glowed in her face was very well conveyed by the author.

Well, it was a  happy life of one month, but abruptly a bombshell fell on her, she was striken by the news that Carrorls would like to adopt baby Michael. Rose knew, taking him away from her would be equal of losing her soul, but still agreed to it since she realized, he would grow without lacking anything. She was actually 'wrapped' in a tragic dream.

Months passed, her father finally became a responsible daddy by her promptings. The phrase used to denote his change,
' Danny took himself in hand '  shows a resurrected sole from evil. But a shock was waiting her; Michael fell with Pneumonia. She rushed to him taking all her earnings & nursed him with utmost attention, heedless of the danger to herself ultimately took away the crisis.The intensity of care could be carried all over to us, but she was caught by a dangerous brain disease & finally became no more. Cronin creates at the end, an emotional storm with tragic tears in readers.
The poetic depiction of the lonely moorland churchyard which holds Rose's grave makes the climax an epic one.

The following paragraph, describing her, made me more closer to the character & these are my favorite part of this story :

 " She had the slum child's elemental knowledge- an absolute unblushing understanding of the hard mysteries of life, mingled with an innocence that was sublime. Those wide, reflective eyes, set in that small grimy face, held the wisdom of the ages.But more than that- they held a fathomless fount of love."

Overall, it's a reality oriented story which definitely touches the reader.
Hats off A.J Cronin for such a great  story.!!

Rating : 4.5/5