An academic book that discusses Cré na Cille in the context of the period when translations of the novel are being circulated internationally. The study draws on various theoretical approaches - including the carnivalesque, the encyclopaedic narrative and narratology - to assess the place of the work in the canon of world literature.
At the same time, Carnabhal na Marbh locates various aspects of Cré na Cille in the context of other works by Ó Cadhain, both published and unpublished, and discusses the connection between the novel and Irish cultural traditions such as folklore, literature and music. It also examines Ó Cadhain's place among other Irish modernists who have long achieved world fame - James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Brian Ó Nualláin.