Oh and I totally agree with Lennard's arguments for Marcella staying in Ireland. I guess there's only a possibility for her to leave Ireland if she has the feeling not to hurt anybody or to leave anything important there. But I also think that Cal wouldn't be a reason for her to stay in Ireland because I agree with Lennard that a relationship between the two of them is impossible.

To answer to you, Marie:
I think that Marcella would visit Cal in the prison after reading the letter. But she would only do it do understand his reasons for lying to her. Maybe she is also interested in the question if Cal really loves her. But I guess that he couldn't convince her of staying together with him. So maybe she would visit him for a few times. Then she would notice that seeing him hurts her too much. Maybe these are only the feelings I would have in such a situation. But I would definitely not be able to stay in contact with Cal.

Well, I think it's really important for him being arrested because it's a kind of a punishment for not leaving the IRA when he was able to. I think it could also be a re-start for him and maybe he starts a total different life after it. That's something I would wish him.
And to answer to you other question: If I would have liked him more, I probably would have wanted another end for him. Maybe also a happy end with Marcella.

I agree with all of you.
When I started reading the book it was really hard for me to identify with a main character who is firstly a boy, secondly a lazy one and thirdly member of a terrorist group in which he doesn't really wanna be. I also didn't understand the relationship with his father and couldn't quite follow his thoughts. Throughout the book that point got better. But I still think he's a difficult character to identify with.
His unwanted membership in the IRA is kind of a sign of his weak character. He is not able to find a job, to live on his own and he is not even able to fight for his real opinion.
I guess that in the end he seemed a little more likable to me. But for me it's also a sign of his weak character. Also his lying to Marcella isn't understandable for me. I don't know how he is able to be together with her although he killed her husband.
In conclusion: I don't understand Cal and I'm not able to identify with him. I don't like how he behaves because I would do it in a total different way.

And I totally agree with Nena's last statement that it's quite hard for Marcella to leave two persons who really need her and who are not able to live on their own. I guess that Marcella would have even left her husband with a more comfortable feeling than leaving this two people alone, knowing that they can't handle it. That would possibly also be a reason why she couldn't forgive Cal.

To answer to Marie's question: I think that every mother has a sense of duty to her child. She wants only the best for her daughter. Like I said, she would stay in Ireland to let her daughter grow up in the country she was born, in the country her dad died and in the country her grandparents, with whom she lives for her whole lifetime together, live. Marcella wants to create a familiar surrounding for her daughter. I think that is a quite possible reason for staying in Ireland.

To answer to Nena's statement: I also think that political and social differences are a consequence of the ethical differences. Because of the Brits being Protestants, the original Irish people have been discriminated for being Catholics. The British people took this advantage and domineered over the Irish. Then the British made sure they got the best land and the best jobs, so they had a higher social level than the Catholics. This is the reason for the still lasting social conflict which of course effects also a political conflict.
Therefore the Northern Ireland conflict is a ethical, social and political problem.

I really gotta say that I didn't think about the aspect Marie mentioned in her comment. I agree that Marcella seems a kind of unpredictable. But I think that for example her staying in the country is a kind of logical because her child was born there and I think she really wants to make her daughter happy. Maybe this could be a reason for her unpredictable behaviour. But I still think that her behaviour seems to be unpredictable and this could be a clue that she could also forgive Cal the killing of her husband.
Marie is right, that the big question is if Marcella really loves Cal. I don't believe that. Maybe I would think about it in another way if the novel would have been written in an omniscient perspective. But in the novel itself I didn't get any feelings of Marcella so I'm not convinced that she loves Cal. I also think that she likes the feeling Cal gives to her but not him as a person.

In my opinion the novel is not a real love story. To call it a love story most aspects of the novel should be in line with the story between Cal & Marcella. But Cal's thoughts most of the time center on the moral conflict of supporting the IRA and helping them to kill innocent people. For me the evolution of Cal / his character is the main aspect of the novel. The love story between Cal & Marcella is a fact that supports his evolution and helps him start thinking on himself.
I guess that some parts of the novel seem like a kind of a love story, but the book in general is about Cal and his changing.

The conflict in Northern Ireland itself isn't a conflict between the different confessions. It's a conflict between two social groups with a different social status. I totally understand the wish for independence from the United Kingdom. But of course the methods are not the right ones.
I agree with J.J.J. that you can compare the behavior of the IRA to the crusades. I also think that people are willing to do anything if they believe it's the right thing (or in this case a task given by God). And I think the history is a good of example for the brutality Catholics are using to reach their aims. So I guess that being more religious would be a reason to commit even more crimes because they would be convinced their God gave them this task.
But in Cal it's not the religion that influences Cal and his friends. The different religions are only the nicknames of the two groups, the Republicans and the Loyalists. It's a consequence of the history of Ireland that this two groups are accidentally divided in Catholics and Protestants. But of course the fact that it is like that, gives the IRA an apparent reason for their actions. But in my opinion this influence of the religion is quite small. In reality it is all about the social conflict.

I totally agree with J.J.J.
I think that it would be hard for Marcella being together with the person who killed her husband, although she didn't love him anymore. Personally, I think that I couldn't be in a real relationship with someone who killed somebody else. And I guess that Marcella won't be able to forget that the father of her child was killed in a quite rude way. Marcella seems to be a quite responsible person, so she would first think of her child. She would adjudge Cal if he would tell her that he killed her husband. Maybe she was lucky to lose her husband whom she didn't love anymore and having the chance to start a new life with a new partner. But in my opinion it's no good foundation for a relationship to know that your partner killed your husband whom you the promise to live with him for the rest of your life. Maybe Marcella would be thinking about forgiving Cal but she would soon realise that there is no chance of making the killing of her husband undone. I think she wouldn't put Cal totally out of her life. But in my opinion she wouldn't be able to forgive him.