Polylithic Union

The Indian Connection in J. G. Farrell's Troubles

“…For example, the real-life original of the gargantuan Majestic Hotel was situated not on the coast of Wexford but on the other side of the Atlantic, on an island off the coast of New England, south of Providence. Farrell happened upon the ruins of the once-famous Ocean View Hotel on Block Island in 1967, a year after the dilapidated building had burned down, and realised that it would make a suitable home for the fictional Irish family slowly emerging from the tangle of story-drafts in his notebooks [3]. Similarly, the names of several of Farrell's friends appear in the guest list for the Majestic's last and disastrous ball [4], a fictional event supposedly happening years before any of these people were born.…”