What do you think?
Rate this book
Truly Frank: A Dublin Memoir
The journalist who fought to save Dublin tells his own remarkable story.
In his decades-long career at the Irish Times, Frank McDonald became uniquely influential for his tireless campaigning in defence of Dublin's built environment. He was, meanwhile, living a remarkably varied and interesting life. In The Distractions of Dublin, McDonald tells the stories behind his public advocacy for a more beautiful and humane city, and of his battles (and lunches) with politicians and developers. And he also tells a more intimate story of growing up gay in Dublin at a time when homosexuality was almost entirely hidden, and of how he came to terms with it. Passionate, indiscreet and seriously entertaining, The Distractions of Dublin is an instant classic of journalistic memoir.
In his decades-long career at the Irish Times, Frank McDonald became uniquely influential for his tireless campaigning in defence of Dublin's built environment. He was, meanwhile, living a remarkably varied and interesting life. In The Distractions of Dublin, McDonald tells the stories behind his public advocacy for a more beautiful and humane city, and of his battles (and lunches) with politicians and developers. And he also tells a more intimate story of growing up gay in Dublin at a time when homosexuality was almost entirely hidden, and of how he came to terms with it. Passionate, indiscreet and seriously entertaining, The Distractions of Dublin is an instant classic of journalistic memoir.
303 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2018
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 23, 2019
It's good, but it's not great would be my reaction. I lived through most of the times that the author chronicles in the book, and evidently he has lots of material to work with. But somehow this failed to grab my attention. I think it could have been better if there had been more proposals about how a modern city could be developed intelligently to embrace the old, and yet recognise the era that we live in and develop as well. Yes it might get preachy, but I think it could have served to intersperse the personal anecdotes. In fairness, I know the author has written books on this (albeit I have not read them) so that is a defence of sorts.
It seems to me that as a book it's very diary-driven. I could not have taken many more 'and then we had lunch at XXX' anecdotes. I suppose also that the laws of libel preclude comment on some of the events that the author undoubtedly observed during his tenure in the Irish Times. So it's a decent read, a sort of modern history of Dublin, but I expected a bit more.
It seems to me that as a book it's very diary-driven. I could not have taken many more 'and then we had lunch at XXX' anecdotes. I suppose also that the laws of libel preclude comment on some of the events that the author undoubtedly observed during his tenure in the Irish Times. So it's a decent read, a sort of modern history of Dublin, but I expected a bit more.
October 4, 2021
A sweeping account of Dublin's recent history with hundreds of opportunities for Wikipedia-driven rabbit holes for the uninitiated. I enjoyed reading this mix of a personal account, architecture, planning controversies; the book doesn't specifically elaborate on any of these facets, but it excels at evoking a feeling of what it must have been to live, work and grow in Dublin during the second half of the 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews