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Rathcormick: A Childhood Recalled
A Childhood Recalled [Paperback] Potterton, Homan and William Trevor
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
5 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Homan Potterton
26 books1 followerHoman Potterton (9 May 1946 – 8 December 2020) was an art historian and writer who was director of the National Gallery of Ireland,
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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October 25, 2012Geeeeeezzzzz
In case you are thinking of dashing out to buy this one - DON'T !!!
What a bore (only read it because it was the only book I took with me on holiday). They call it "A classic memoir" ! ha !! More like a chronicle if you ask me.
Wasting a person's time with 303 pages of nothing - oh, okay, so he had a dog named Rusty, a bunch of brothers and sisters, he moved from one school to another, oh and most importantly he had mumps !!! hahahaaa
Imagine if he'd also had chicken pox and measles (twice) as I did - he'd have written another 200 pages - hahahahaaa
What captivated my attention was the fact that his mother disappeared every day after dinner (page 1 - first three sentences!!). The big secret is finally revealed on page 301 !! She used to go and smoke [a cigarette, (he could have lied and said it was "pot" - to give the book some spice!!!) - haha)].
The Sunday Independent says "Not a wet miserable childhood, à la Frank McCourt ..." I'd rather read Frank McCourt any day !!!!!
In case you are thinking of dashing out to buy this one - DON'T !!!
What a bore (only read it because it was the only book I took with me on holiday). They call it "A classic memoir" ! ha !! More like a chronicle if you ask me.
Wasting a person's time with 303 pages of nothing - oh, okay, so he had a dog named Rusty, a bunch of brothers and sisters, he moved from one school to another, oh and most importantly he had mumps !!! hahahaaa
Imagine if he'd also had chicken pox and measles (twice) as I did - he'd have written another 200 pages - hahahahaaa
What captivated my attention was the fact that his mother disappeared every day after dinner (page 1 - first three sentences!!). The big secret is finally revealed on page 301 !! She used to go and smoke [a cigarette, (he could have lied and said it was "pot" - to give the book some spice!!!) - haha)].
The Sunday Independent says "Not a wet miserable childhood, à la Frank McCourt ..." I'd rather read Frank McCourt any day !!!!!
December 30, 2024
A relaxing read. Wonderful glimpse into Protestant family life in 1950's Ireland
December 18, 2015
I am currently reading this book and am engrossed in it. It is written in an engaging style, structured around episodes from the author's childhood as he was growing up in a rural Church of Ireland household during the 1950s. A light humorous touch, with nice touches of irony, pervades the book. A genuinely recognisable humanity is one of the book's more appealing aspects.
Personally, I was attracted to the book and am enjoying it because it captures an era and a context that is familiar to me from my own childhood, also in 1950s Ireland. The book rings absolutely true for me in even the smallest details: the descriptions of rural life, the food, the family entertainment, the holidays in Kilkee, the Catholic/Protestant relationship, the prejudices of rural people via-a-vis 'Dublin' people.
I grew up in a rural town where I was aware of the lives of Protestant (Church of Ireland) families from the big farms. They were people who largely keep to themselves, did their shopping only in certain places, went to a different church and to a different school. But they were highly respected and many were friends of us Catholics. What the book does for me is raise the veil on the hidden lives of those families in their more intimate details, lives that were in many ways not much different from our own. The values were ones that I recognise as having shaped my own growing up, even the politics in some instances.
For anyone researching the lives of rural Protestant Ireland in the 1950s this book is essential reading. For anyone else, it's a charming and informative book about a very real family.
Personally, I was attracted to the book and am enjoying it because it captures an era and a context that is familiar to me from my own childhood, also in 1950s Ireland. The book rings absolutely true for me in even the smallest details: the descriptions of rural life, the food, the family entertainment, the holidays in Kilkee, the Catholic/Protestant relationship, the prejudices of rural people via-a-vis 'Dublin' people.
I grew up in a rural town where I was aware of the lives of Protestant (Church of Ireland) families from the big farms. They were people who largely keep to themselves, did their shopping only in certain places, went to a different church and to a different school. But they were highly respected and many were friends of us Catholics. What the book does for me is raise the veil on the hidden lives of those families in their more intimate details, lives that were in many ways not much different from our own. The values were ones that I recognise as having shaped my own growing up, even the politics in some instances.
For anyone researching the lives of rural Protestant Ireland in the 1950s this book is essential reading. For anyone else, it's a charming and informative book about a very real family.
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July 6, 2014I am just beginning to read this one. It's starting out a little slow so I'm giving it 3 stars. I will update this review when I finish. I have bought other books that that started out slow. Then I would put them down until I was ready to try again and most times I would end up loving the book. This could be one of those books that I end up falling in love with.. I hope so
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews