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na Marbh locates various aspects of Cr é na Cille in the context of other works by Ó Cadhain, both published and unpublished, and discusses the connection between the novel and Irish cultural traditions such as folklore, literature and music.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.