I've wanted to read Union Street by Pat Barker for a long time, ever since watching the film inspired by this book, Stanley & Iris starring Robert DeNiro and Jane Fonda. Renowned for her Regeneration trilogy, and The Ghost Road which won the 1995 Booker Prize, her titles are largely lacking in bookstores.
As often happens, I went into a charity shop, rested my hand on a trolley and literally placed my hand onto a copy of Union Street.
This is a collection of intertwined stories of women, young and old, struggling to survive the lowest class poverty in Belfast. Often shockingly violent and raw, they are taken advantage of by men who leave them, spend all their money on drink, or physically beat them as a matter of course. Although everyone knows the gossip, there is very little support within the community. Little Kelly Brown skips school to play in a park and is raped. Joanne is pregnant but sleeping with a guy they call the midget while her husband's away. Lisa's husband took all her house money and was drunk while she went into labour, ending up with a horrific time in the hospital. Muriel nurses her husband's bloody cough while he slowly dies on the family couch. Blonde Dinah is the local whore, at almost 60 still drinking and picking up men for whatever she can get. Iris King is the bastion of the neighbourhood, who can be counted on to help no questions asked. She has her own problems with a teenage daughter pregnant now to a 15 year old father. The attempted household abortion fails, and the ensuing drama of the birth is very tough reading. Bleak and unforgettable.
These stories are heartbreaking because it is exceedingly well written. With no false moments, Barker reveals all the squalid drama without reveling in it. Often difficult to read, but she is masterful. It is hard to believe this was her first published novel, it truly reads as if it was written by a seasoned pro like Margaret Atwood or Iris Murdoch. Reviewed at the time as too bleak and depressing, Barker had written other novels that were rejected by publishers and felt free with Union Street to write as she wanted, and I think that is the key to the authenticity.
This was filmed in 1988 as Stanley and Iris, starring Jane Fonda and Robert DeNiro.
Be aware: the film bears no resemblance to the book.
The Iris King of the film works in a cake factory in a working class American town, who discovers a man working in the cafeteria kitchen cannot read. She offers to teach him, and they become friends, falling in love. (Why option a book, if the only connection to it is one characters name?)
It's one of my favourite Fonda films, and I always enjoy DeNiro in his everyman roles (my favourite being Falling In Love with Meryl Streep). It was also filmed in Toronto, using locations in the Beaches district. After seeing the film at the Fox repertory cinema, I walked through the nearby park where Stanley and Iris had just sat. This film has major editing flaws, and was the last film Fonda made before a long absence from acting, but somehow, I have seen it many times, and continue to watch it.
This novel however is literally another story, and I would caution people who pick up this book featuring Fonda and DeNiro on the cover.
You are going to get the harshest 1970's Belfast poverty, not a working-class romance.
1982 / Tradeback / 265 pages
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