Read Ireland Book News - Issue 25
<-- [Back To Main Menu] 1. Dismantling Mr Doyle by James Ryan (paperback; 9.99 Irish pounds / 15.00 US Dollars approximately) [Add To Basket]
On the surface, the Doyles are the archetypal Irish family - loving, secure, traditional. They have their small rebellions, but somehow power still remains firmly in the hands of Mr. Doyle, a benign patriarch controlling all their lives. But in the world outside, things are changing, the old order is being dismantled and the traditional roles the Doyles have always accepted are finally being challenged.
Right at the heart of the Doyle household, threatening their own miniature universe, sits a revelation that will throw them unwillingly and inexorably into the conflict. To avoid becoming casualties, each of them must change, and some will survive better than others.
This is a novel about the intricate nature of the parent/child relationship which will strike a chord with anyone who has ever loved a parent and sometimes wondered why!
2. Oscar Wilde by Vyvyan Holland (pb; 7.65 IRP / 11.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
In this book, Vyvyan Holland, the son of Oscar Wilde, gives the reader endearing glimpses of the private man, as well as the public figure. A legendary figure of his generation, Oscar Wilde rapidly become the most successful playwright and the most celebrated wit in the English-speaking world. However, his downfall from being the darling of the salons to an object of the most viscious calumny was not only a remarkable cause celebre but also a pitiful tragedy. The book contains 146 black and white photographs and illustrations.
3. Nighthawk Alley by Anthony Glavin (pb; 5.99 IRP / 7.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
Street-wise and often very funny, this novel is the story of Mickey McKenna, a Dublin-born mechanic who dislikes cars, puzzles over people, loves his garden, and takes a drink.
After thirty years in America, he is contentedly ticking over towards retirement at his garage across the river from Boston. But when he hires Fintan, a young Donegal mechanic, and Lionel, a black Vietnam veteran, dope-smokers with earrings both, accepted boundaries begin to blur. Watching Fintan's struggle to find a foothold in the States - the same struggle he faced year before - Mickey is suddenly forced to re-examine his life, both as an American and an Irishman.
A beautifully paced eulogy to oil changes and Cadillacs, this novel is also an extraordinary portrait of displacement, identity and bigotry, a beguiling study of hootch, fan belts, and the pursuit of happiness.
4. Great Irish Legends for Children retold by Yvonne Carroll (hb; 7.99 IRP / 12.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
A delightful collection of traditional Irish legends including much-loved favourites such as Oisin, The Brown Bull of Cooley and the Giant from Scotland. Six beautifully illustrated legends, simply retold, for children of all ages to enjoy and remember.
5. Saoire by Padraig Standun (hb; 10.00 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The latest novel by the candid priest (in Irish). Tomas O'Grainne feels a fatherly obligation to give advise to his daughter Rosemarie on noticing the interest she is generating amongst the young men of Crete during their foreign holiday. Predictably she backlashes by reminding him of his desertion of her mother in favour of Stephanie, his new lover. This sparks a conscience crisis in Tomas which ruins the holiday for all three.
Ceapann Tomas O Grainne gurb e is dual do comhairle a lease a chur ar a inion de bharr na speise a leirionn Romeos oga Hersonisis na Creite i Rosemarie. Gan de fhreagra aici sin ar an sceal ach treigean a mathar, agus Stephanie, an leannan is deanai aige, a chasadh lena hathair. Spreagann se sin aothu coinsiasa in intinn Thomais a chuireann an tsaoire ghreine o mhaith orthu triur.
6. The Chieftains: The Authorised Biography by John Glatt (hb; 18.70 IRP / 28.00 USD)
Since their humble beginnings in the folk clubs and bars of Ireland in the early Sixties, the Chieftains have built a worldwide reputation and following based on their brilliant musicianship, their rediscovery and reinvention of traditional Irish music, and their own original music and Oscar-winning soundtracks.
This authorised biography is the first intimate and comprehensive history of the group. Based on exclusive and extensive interviews with all the band's members, with their families and friends, and with many of the international superstars who have recorded with them, this revealing book tells their own story for the first time, with insight, wit and charm. It has not always been easy: for a long time they struggled to make an impact in the wider world of popular music, and there have been several personnel changes over the years. But the struggle has paid off, and the band's present line-up is now able to enjoy the fruits of its work and the joys of its music.
This history of The Chieftains over the last 35 years is the history of Irish music, and the story of how an unlikely group of enthusiasts came together to resucitate some of the world's most beautiful music from near extinction, brought it to an audience of millions, and became acclaimed stars in their own right. Their story is a fascinating one, told in their own inimitable voices in this book.
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