Quench the Moon

by Walter Macken

This is the story of Stephen O'Riordan, a true son of the wild and beautiful land of Connemara, of his hopes and ambitions, and of his passionate and stormy love for Kathleen, sister of his bitterest enemy . . . It is also the story of Ireland after twenty-five years of liberty, like Stephen new in its freedom and thought yet primitive in its emotions, its people witty, bawdy, boozy, hard-working, loud-voiced or gentle - but never dull . . .

Genres: Ireland, Irish Literature

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 1974

About the author

Walter Macken was an Irish writer of short stories, novels and plays.

Originally an actor, principally with the Tadhbhearc in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre, he played lead roles on Broadway in MJ Molloy's The King of Friday’s Men and his own play Home is the Hero. He also acted in films, notably in Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow. With the success of his third book, Rain on the Wind, he devoted his time to writing. His plays include Mungo’s Mansion (1946) and Home is the Hero (1952).

His novels include I Am Alone (1949); Rain on the Wind (1950); The Bogman (1952); and the historical trilogy Seek the Fair Land (1959), The Silent People (1962) and The Scorching Wind (1964). His short stories were collected in The Green Hills (1956), God Made Sunday (1962) and The Coll Doll and other Stories (1962).

He also published a number of books for children, including Island of the Great Yellow Ox (1966); and Flight of the Doves (1968), which was adapted for the cinema.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is superb with lots of slang which was difficult to navigate at times but really gives the novel an Irish feel to it. There is a lot of hunting and fishing which isn't really my favourite thing to read and the plot is pretty simple, but for the writing..... 5 stars.

[Nanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly insightful book. Walter Macken's prose effortlessly steps into the shoes of each of his characters. Not one line was skippable.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mix of nice and nasty, but am afraid the nasty prevailed. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and certainly wouldn't compare it favorably to Lord of the Mountain.

[Hannah McCallum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg what a heart wrenching book, I adore it so much.

[Lucia Gannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book while in Connemara. It gives a very vivid description of life in Connemara, with all it's beauty and harshness. It would certainly stimulate me to read Walter Macken's trilogy. I loved the attention to detail to landscape and people. It is obvious the author knew his subject very well.

[Clairebear · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book - I've always just wanted to move to Connameara and live there forever and this book just seals it for me

[Kato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the scenery description in the book. So much so, that made me look it up on Google Earth :-)