Boycott (novel)

Although the events surrounding Captain Charles Boycott that brought him to international attention occurred in 1879–80, the novel has parallel narratives alternating between this period and approximately thirty years earlier.

As the boys struggle to survive, their experiences (involving, among other things, coffin ships, workhouses, and cannibalism), profoundly shape their attitudes in different ways towards landlordism and Irish freedom from British imperialism.

[2][3][4][5] While Owen is at the forefront of the passive resistance campaign of ostracism, his brother Thomas believes that only violence can achieve an end to landlordism and ultimately bring about Irish freedom.

[7] The novel culminates in the British government despatching a large military force to protect Boycott, which ultimately brings the brothers directly into conflict with each other and provokes disturbing revelations about how they'd survived the famine thirty years beforehand.

However, he also felt that the novel was slightly flawed through repetition and that better editing might have prevented 'points being repeatedly hammered home'[10] Playwright Frank McGuinness described it as 'masterful storytelling... perfectly paced and beautifully written... an impressive achievement.