John McGahern didn’t write about the Irish countryside to make it look pretty. He wrote about it because he lived it, and honestly, That They Might Face the Rising Sun—published as By the Lake in the US—is probably the most honest thing ever put to paper about what it actually feels like to belong to a place. It’s not about plot. Nothing "happens" in the way a Hollywood thriller happens. Instead, the book breathes. It follows a year in a small lakeside community in County Leitrim, following the cycles of the seasons, the rituals of the neighbors, and the quiet, often unspoken bonds that hold a dying way of life together.
If you’ve ever felt like the world is moving too fast, this book is your anchor. It’s a masterpiece of observation. McGahern spent decades honing his craft, and this, his final novel, is where he stopped trying to prove anything and just let the world exist.
The Reality of Leitrim and the Power of Observation
Most people get this book wrong. They think it’s a pastoral idyll, a "look how cute the old Irish farmers are" kind of story. It isn't. It’s actually quite unsentimental. McGahern captures the pettiness, the long-standing grudges, and the crushing weight of loneliness that comes with living in a place where everyone knows your business but nobody talks about their feelings.
The story centers on Joe and Kate Ruttledge. They’ve moved back to the lake from London. They aren't exactly outsiders, but they aren't fully "of" the place either. They represent us—the observers. Through their eyes, we see characters like the Shah, a wealthy but isolated businessman, and Bill Evans, a man broken by the harshness of the old industrial school system.
It’s heavy stuff.
But it’s also incredibly light. There’s a scene where they’re just moving sheep. That’s it. Just sheep moving across a field. Yet, the way McGahern describes the light hitting the water and the specific sounds of the animals makes you feel like you’re standing right there in the damp grass. It’s immersive in a way that modern "fast" fiction can’t touch. He uses a technique often called "slow realism." You have to settle into it. If you try to rush through That They Might Face the Rising Sun, you'll miss the whole point.
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Why the Title Matters More Than You Think
The phrase "that they might face the rising sun" refers to the traditional way of burying the dead. In many old Irish graveyards, the bodies are positioned facing east. The idea is that when the resurrection happens, they’ll be standing up to meet the dawn. It’s a beautiful image, but in the context of the novel, it’s also a bit haunting.
It suggests that even in a story about living, breathing people, death is always sitting at the table.
The community in the book is aging. The young people have mostly left for Dublin or London or New York. The people left behind are the ones who will eventually be buried facing that sun. McGahern is documenting a world that was already disappearing when he wrote it in 2002. Today, in 2026, that world is basically gone. The small-scale farming, the constant "dropping in" on neighbors without a phone call, the shared labor of the hay harvest—it's been replaced by Wi-Fi, commutes, and industrial agriculture.
The Characters: No Villains, Just People
There’s Jamesie. You have to love Jamesie. He’s the local gossip, the lifeblood of the lakeside. He knows everything about everyone, but he’s not malicious. He’s just terrified of being alone. He and his wife, Mary, are the emotional core of the neighborhood.
Then you have Johnny, Jamesie’s brother, who comes home from England every year. His story is the most heartbreaking. He’s the "returned emigrant" who doesn't really belong anywhere anymore. He’s spent his life working in a Ford factory, and when he comes back to Leitrim, he finds that the world he remembers has moved on without him.
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- The Shah: Joe’s uncle. Successful but emotionally stunted. He represents the silent generation of Irish men who couldn't express love if their lives depended on it.
- Bill Evans: A victim of the state. His presence is a reminder of the darker side of Irish history—the cruelty of the church and state towards the poor.
- The Ruttledges: The bridge between the old world and the new. They choose this life, which makes their perspective different from those who were born into it and never had a choice.
McGahern doesn't judge these people. He just watches them. He captures the "daily-ness" of their lives. Honestly, it’s kind of a miracle that a book where the biggest conflict is whether a shed gets built or a cow gets sold can be so gripping.
The 2024 Film Adaptation and the Visual Language of the Lake
Pat Collins directed a film version of the book recently, and it did something rare: it actually captured the rhythm of the prose. Usually, when a book this "quiet" gets turned into a movie, the directors feel the need to add drama. They add a love triangle or a secret murder. Collins didn't do that. He let the camera linger on the water. He let the actors—like Barry Ward and Anna Bederke—sit in silence.
The film brought a new generation to That They Might Face the Rising Sun. It reminded people that there is value in stillness. In a digital age where our attention spans are basically non-existent, watching a movie (or reading a book) about people just being is a radical act.
What Modern Readers Get Wrong
A common complaint is that "nothing happens."
If you think nothing happens in this book, you aren't paying attention. A man dies. A marriage is tested. A business is handed over. A bird is watched. In McGahern's world, the arrival of a bird or the changing of the wind is a major event. It’s about recalibrating your senses. We are so used to "high stakes" that we’ve forgotten the stakes of a normal life. For the people on the lake, the "rising sun" isn't just a metaphor; it’s the literal clock they live by.
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McGahern once said that "the local is the universal." He was right. You don't have to be from Leitrim to understand the fear of being forgotten or the joy of a good fire on a cold night.
Actionable Insights for Reading (or Re-reading) McGahern
If you’re diving into this for the first time, or if you’ve tried and struggled, here’s how to actually experience it.
- Read it slowly. This isn't a "beach read." Give it twenty pages at a time. Let the atmosphere sink in.
- Look for the cycles. Notice how the book begins and ends. It’s circular. The seasons repeat, the rituals repeat, but the people change.
- Pay attention to the "unsaid." In Irish culture, especially in the rural West and Midlands, what people don't say is often more important than what they do. Watch the way Joe and the Shah interact. It’s all subtext.
- Listen to the dialogue. McGahern had an incredible ear for the Hiberno-English spoken in the mid-20th century. It’s rhythmic, slightly formal, and often very funny.
Why This Book Is Essential in 2026
We live in a world of "content." Everything is loud. Everything is trying to sell you something or make you angry. That They Might Face the Rising Sun does neither. It’s a record of human dignity. It shows that even the most "ordinary" life is full of grace and tragedy.
It’s also a warning. As we move further into a tech-dominated existence, we are losing our connection to the physical world—the dirt, the weather, the neighbors. McGahern shows us what we’re losing. He doesn't say it’s better or worse; he just shows us what it was.
The book is a testament to the idea that belonging to a place—really belonging, with all the messiness that entails—is one of the most important things a human can do. It’s about the "whole of life," as the characters often say. And in the end, that’s all we have.
To truly appreciate the work, you have to accept its pacing. It asks you to sit still. It asks you to look at the lake. It asks you to wait for the sun to rise. If you can do that, you’ll find that it’s one of the most rewarding experiences literature has to offer.
Next Steps for the Reader
- Visit Leitrim: If you can, go to the areas around Lough Gaur or the Shannon-Erne Waterway. Seeing the specific gray of the sky and the way the reeds move in the wind will make the prose click in a new way.
- Explore McGahern’s "The Dark": If you find Rising Sun too peaceful, read his earlier work. It’s much harsher and deals with the trauma that the characters in Rising Sun are quietly carrying.
- Watch the Pat Collins Film: It’s a perfect companion piece. It uses the actual landscape McGahern lived in to tell the story.
- Observe Your Own Rituals: Take a leaf out of Joe Ruttledge’s book. Notice the first frost. Notice the way your neighbors greet you. There is a story in those small things.