Tipperary

by Frank Delaney

“My wooing began in passion, was defined by violence and circumscribed by land; all these elements molded my soul.” So writes Charles O’Brien, the unforgettable hero of bestselling author Frank Delaney’s extraordinary new novel–a sweeping epic of obsession, profound devotion, and compelling history involving a turbulent era that would shape modern Ireland. 

Born into a respected Irish-Anglo family in 1860, Charles loves his native land and its long-suffering but irrepressible people. As a healer, he travels the countryside dispensing traditional cures while soaking up stories and legends of bygone times–and witnessing the painful, often violent birth of land-reform measures destined to lead to Irish independence.

At the age of forty, summoned to Paris to treat his dying countryman–the infamous Oscar Wilde–Charles experiences the fateful moment of his life. In a chance encounter with a beautiful and determined young Englishwoman, eighteen-year-old April Burke, he is instantly and passionately smitten–but callously rejected. Vowing to improve himself, Charles returns to Ireland, where he undertakes the preservation of the great and abandoned estate of Tipperary, in whose shadow he has lived his whole life–and which, he discovers, may belong to April and her father.

As Charles pursues his obsession, he writes the “History” of his own life and country. While doing so, he meets the great figures of the day, including Charles Parnell, William Butler Yeats, and George Bernard Shaw. And he also falls victim to less well-known characters–who prove far more dangerous. Tipperary also features a second “historian:” a present-day commentator, a retired and obscure history teacher who suddenly discovers that he has much at stake in the telling of Charles’s story.

In this gloriously absorbing and utterly satisfying novel, a man’s passion for the woman he loves is twinned with his country’s emergence as a nation. With storytelling as sweeping and dramatic as the land itself, myth, fact, and fiction are all woven together with the power of the great nineteenth-century novelists. Tipperary once again proves Frank Delaney’s unrivaled mastery at bringing Irish history to life.

Praise for Frank Delaney’s TIPPERARY:
“[T]he narrative moves swiftly and surely…A sort of Irish Gone With the Wind, marked by sly humor, historical awareness and plenty of staying power.” — Kirkus Reviews
“[A]nother meticulously researched journey…Delaney’s careful scholarship and compelling storytelling bring it uniquely alive. Highly recommended.” — Library Journal (starred)
“Sophisticated and creative.” — Booklist
“Delaney’s confident storytelling and quirky characterizations enrich a fascinating and complex period of Irish history.” — Publishers Weekly
“Read just a few sentences of Frank Delaney’s writing and you’ll see why National Public Radio called him ‘the world’s most eloquent man.’” — Kirkus Reviews, “Big Book Guide 2007”


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Ireland, Fiction, Irish Literature, Audiobook, Historical, Adult Fiction

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Frank Delaney was an author, a broadcaster on both television and radio, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, lecturer, and a judge of many literary prizes. Delaney interviewed more than 3,500 of the world's most important writers. NPR called him 'The Most Eloquent Man in the World'. Delaney was born and raised in County Tipperary, Ireland, spent more than twenty-five years in England before moving to the United States in 2002. He lived in Litchfield County, Connecticut, with his wife, writer and marketer, Diane Meier.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An author's second novel seldom lives up to the first. Mr. Delaney, though, has served up another gem. In the author's note to his first novel, Ireland, Mr. Delaney points out “Beneath all the histories of Ireland...there has always been another, less obvious, reporter speaking – the oral tradition, Ireland's vernacular narrative, telling the country's tale to her people in stories handed down since God was a boy”.
Wikipedia lists ten castles in County Tipperary, but Tipperary Castle is either a figment of a fine imagination, an amalgam of other castles, or a combination of the two. Charles O'Brien is born on land adjacent to Tipperary Castle. The story, or history, is O'Brien's. A personal history of a Castle, and the woman, that captivate him.
Charles' story begins “Be careful about me. Be careful about my country and my people and how we tell our story. We Irish prefer embroideries to plain cloth...We love the 'story' part of the word 'history,' and we love it trimmed out with color and drama, ribbons and bows. Listen to our tunes, observe a Celtic scroll: we always decorate our essence.” A description of what love of the land means, roughly a quarter of the way into the book, is memorable - and a description of Irish cuisine a third of the way in is laugh out loud funny
"All seemed gray or black - excellent colors in themselves, but not in meat or potatoes. I thought I was looking at beef until Lady G said 'Why must we always have mutton?'
To which her daughter replied, 'Mamma, this is pork'.

Mr. Delaney puts the O'Brien family in the upper middle class, and after his education Charles becomes an itinerant healer; there were not enough doctors to cover rural Ireland. Charles travels the country, mingling at all levels of society, from poor tenant farmers to the Anglo-Irish in the country for hundreds of years, to recent more English immigrants.
In Charles' travels he is called to Paris to care for Oscar Wilde, who is on his death bed. Wilde is cared for my many others, including April Burke. With only a few days to live, Wilde tells a tale of another April Burke, an actress in a troupe and former shady lady, that owned Tipperary Castle. During the time in Paris, Charles, stricken by April, tries desperately to get her attention and does, but not in the way he hopes – she threatens to have the police throw him in jail as a stalker if he doesn't quit following her around.
O'Brien resolves that the way to get noticed is to make the ancestral connection to the Actress April Burke. So begins a quixotic quest. Along the way are strewn other well known Irish names – William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Michael Connor to name a few. Throw in a castle restoration of monumental proportion, accomplished during the Irish Civil War (that breaks an imperial yoke), with a genealogical mystery mixed in and you end up with is a finely embroidered and thoroughly enjoyable tale.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tipperary reads like a textbook with a human interest story thrown in for good measure. This makes sense when you find out that the author is a retired BBC broadcaster. If you are interested in the Irish revolution, this novel is a terrific way to find out more. But I don't recommend this book for anyone looking for an "escape" or "for fun" read.

On a personal level, the characters frustrated me (especially Charles and his inaction/immaturity). The storyline tends to drag, too, probably because it is interspersed with a lot of factual information from the seemingly-omniscient narrator--whose identity and personality is revealed about two-thirds of the way through the book. That far in, such a revelation comes as a bit of a shock, really. 'Twas a tad unsettling.

Don't get me wrong; I learned quite a lot, and I AM interested in the historical subject matter. If I didn't happen to be so interested, however, I don't know that I would have finished the book.

Bottom line: As a history lesson, Tipperary is much better than your average textbook. As a novel, though, it doesn't quite jive.

[Seraphina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more of a 3.5 star for me. I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this novel, reading about England's rule in Ireland at the time and the fight to give back rule to the Irish. I also enjoyed the story of the restoration of Tipperary castle and his descriptions of it were superb. It was largely unbelievable that a person who wasn't well connected or wealthy could meet with every person of interest in Ireland at the time which is why a lot of people may be put off this story. Although it would be quite cool to have met all those amazing characters, I think the author was just showing off his knowledge about them.

[Jess Penhallow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such a slog for me. I reallly should have given up on it and was close to doing so multiple times.

Firstly, I didn't feel like the fake-pretending-to-be-real narrative style and don't think that it added anthing to the story other than providing occasional context to historical events (and this wasn't done enough). This style of writing just made the story drag even more and if it were compiled of diary entries and letters nothing would be lost.

Secondly, I don't feel like I know enough about Irish history to understand the endless stream of references to historical figures and events. Maybe others who pick these up may enjoy this book more but I don't think this should be something the book hinges on.

Finally, I disliked all of the central characters intensely (other than Mrs O'Brien, she was great). I wasn't at all invested in the relationship between Charles and April which was incredibly one-sided throughout with Charles being needy and pathetic and April cruel. As this relationship is what the book hinged I had no motivation to continue reading.

Just really not for me and a disappointing end to the Irish readathon.

[Lorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book of the history of Ireland as it struggled to become a nation from the mid-eighteenth century through World War I that was told in this captivating novel beginning with a trunk being discovered by a history professor intrigued by its contents including the written history of a Charles O'Brien. But as O'Brien cautions the reader, "Be careful about me. Be careful about my country and my people and how we tell our history." And so begins the story that I found hard to put down. It was the perfect book to be reading on St. Patrick's Day.

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Charles O'Brien sits down to write a history of his life, he starts at his first memory and then moves forward. Throughout his life, Charles' true home was in County Tipperary, in Ireland. It's where he finds a passion for the land and its people, it's where he comes home to after traveling around the country as a healer. It's also the place where an Anglo-Irish castle lies dilapidated and abandoned. For Charles, all of this is also wrapped up in his devotion to one woman and throughout his History he tells a sweeping story of Ireland in the midst of chaotic upheaval and change as well as his own personal experiences as he longs for a woman out of reach.

"Epic" seems like too grand a term for this book - it's more intimate than that and doesn't cover multiple generations enough to seem to warrant the word. Like Forrest Gump, Charles O'Brien keeps being in the right place at the right time to witness some very important events and people in Irish history. Sometimes it's a little TOO coincidental, but I feel like I do have a much better sense of the timeline of the Irish struggle. The time period, from before the turn of the century to post WWI, was a huge time of change and the book does a good job of making you both sympathetic for the Irish but also frustrated with the way they sometimes are their own worst enemy with the choices they make. I enjoyed the narrative style that changed from Charles' own written record to that of another narrator who takes Charles' text and gives it context and helps us understand his unreliability about certain experiences. Our narrator shares information from other sources, both primary and secondary, that flesh things out and also paint a wider picture of the time. I particularly liked the storyline involving the castle as well as the little mysteries involving Charles and the narrator.

While it didn't change my life, I was entertained, I learned a lot of Irish History and I do feel like I know Tipperary now - and since I have a lot of family that emigrated to the United States from that actual county, that matters to me.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book on CD and really enjoyed the reading by the author. Who doesn't like listening to a Irish voice. The prose were poetic. He has a gift for telling stories. The Irish history was interesting as it was interwoven with the characters in the story. It was nice to be reminded of the depth of a book and the beauty of words placed together after reading so much by way of an easy read in the YA fiction category.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed learning about Irish history through the plot of this novel. In the end, while the beginning started a little slow, I thoroughly enjoyed Tipperary!

[Mairead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally did not like Charles and April together, but as it went on I became so connected to them. I can’t explain it. Made me very sad and I want to move to Ireland and find my family’s land :)

[Brendan Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Delaney is a shanachie, following on in the tradition of the old storytellers of Ireland. This would seem to be the art he employs, but behind the apparent simplicity and anecdotal nature of the tales he tells lies a very sharply-honed novelist's mind. There is a design behind the loosely linked series of stories through which the principal narrator, Charles O'Brien, sets out his own life story from the 1860s through to the early 20th century. Charles acts as a witness to the way in which the land was restored to the dispossessed and embittered native population and comes in contact, often quite innocently, with major figures of the period such as Parnell, Oscar Wilde, Shaw, Yeats and even Michael Collins. Other voices interject from time to time to indicate that Charles for all his confidence in his own eloquence and grasp of the situation often doesn't quite understand how others see him nor what is really taking place in the country. This is wonderfully well done and constitutes a fresh and rather variegated look at a period which most of us who grew up in Ireland only know from textbooks. One of the most devastating and politically incorrect themes which continually comes through (flying in the face of the pieties of the modern Republic) is that there is such an enormous disparity between native Catholics and settler Protestants, both of whom passionately love the land, that there is practically no hope whatsoever of the two tribes ever being able to comprehend one another.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually devour books but for some reason this took me almost a month to read. I just didn't feel as engaged in the book so I let days pass without reading it. I loved Delaney's previous book, Ireland. My favorite part of Ireland was Delaney's love of storytelling, Irish culture, and Irish history shone through his beautifully-written book.

Tipperary shows his love of Irish culture/history as well, but the storytelling piece suffered a bit. He also recycled almost all of the elements in Ireland: noble but lonely man with love of all things Irish and in a traditionally Irish occupation that has him travel to every part of Ireland; the almost obsessive devotion to an elusive love object; questions of ancestry; switching narrators throughout the story; even the direct participation of the main character in the Easter Uprising and multiple encounters with famous Irish notables. It felt like he took so many of the same elements that were successful in Ireland and rearranged them with moderate success in Tipperary.

I found myself finally engaged 2/3 of the way through the book, and overall it was pretty satisfying. But it was not Delaney's best work.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I apparently read this book 6 years ago and gave it four stars. This second reading, I'll have to go for three. I had forgotten the gist of the story, and thought the beginning was slow and redundant. However, in true Frank Delaney fashion, he picked it up and gave a riveting ending. I love how Delaney weaves Irish history through his prose.

[༺Kiki༻ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listening to the audiobook was like having a favorite uncle tell a story. Frank Delaney is a natural story teller and a wonderful narrator.

[Teri Pre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it through 75% and calling it done. Forrest Gump? Meet Ireland. Pfffft!

[Fanona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its good tho too long & bounces all over the place. In the audio version its difficult to know who is speaking both due to the reader not having distinctive character voices & that author gives no time, place or character change references.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th novel I’ve read by Frank Delaney and like the other three, this one is steeped in Irish culture, folk-lore and history. In the beginning I didn’t care for it as much and only stuck with it because I was listening to the audible version narrated by the author with his lovely lilting Irish brogue, But I’m glad I kept reading because by the time I reached the end I was glad I hadn’t abandoned it.

At first it seemed like Delaney was simply using a story about unrequited love as a device for keeping readers interested so that he could write about Ireland’s history. To that end he structured the novel from multiple points of view beginning with a historian-narrator (whose identity wasn’t revealed till much later in the book) who had stumbled across a manuscript that had been written by Charles O’Brien, the novel’s second narrator, to record the “history” of his life and his passionate love for April Burke, the woman who had scorned him. His friend and soldier in the IRA, Joseph Harney, emerges sometime later as the novel’s third narrator.

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of what was happening in Ireland during the first part of the 20th century, the novel is filled with important characters from that period including Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw as well Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, Eamon de Valera and several other leaders who were active in the Sinn Fein political movement and the Irish Republican Army.

Having been to Ireland several times and heard stories from our Irish relatives about “The Troubles” I especially enjoyed the way Delaney wrote about the Easter Rising of 1916 and the struggle for Irish Independence that followed it.

The only thing I disliked about this novel was how hard it was to switch back and forth between the three points of view since Delaney didn’t identify who was speaking ahead of time. And much as I enjoyed listening to Delaney read the book, he used the same delivery style and voice for the three alternating narrators.

[Inner_Excitement_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't listen to the naysayers who haven't finished the book. I normally wouldn't read something like this but I did and - to me - that says a lot. This book has something for every reader, including war, history, adventure, and romance. The plot is sweeping and complex, entertaining and amusing.

Tipperary is full of elegant prose and beautifully told, exploring themes of unrequited love, patriotism, the finality of life, and faith (among many others). The plot stitches together two stories simultaneously; each with their own prejudices pitted against the other, weaving in and out of one another until they both collide.

The worn down Tipperary estate is the touchstone for all the characters (some of which appear very late). Charles is an Irish everyman, a healer by trade, who takes the task of writing a history of both himself and the land he lives in and loves. While tending to the wounds of Oscar Wilde he meets the mesmerizing April Burke, who becomes his life's passion. She is a complex character with a complex past and not very likeable, but Charles doesn't allow this to deter him and pursues her anyway. During this pursuit he learns April may be the rightful heir of Tipperary castle and he helps her in trying to secure it in court. We quickly learn, however, that there are many enemies in Ireland at the time of his writing, all of which seem to thwart Charles in his desire to help Miss Burke.

In conclusion, this is a story worth reading, and a read worth finishing.

[Lavenderandfireflies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became a fan of Frank Delaney after reading his 2004 work, Ireland. Delaney is a master of wefting and warping Ireland's history into fictional stories with colorful characters, adding just the right amount of mystery to keep you turning the pages. In Tipperary, we follow Charles O'Brien from a lad of nine through to his sixties; we get to know the man, his passions, his hobbies, and his chosen career and are engaged in the story if his seemingly unrequited love for the 22 years his junior, April Burke. The story hums along being told from the journals and letters of O'Brien, journals of his mother and closest friend Harney, until in the middle of the book, Delaney drops the mystery.

Tipperary utilizes several different storytelling methods: the use of epistolary, narrative, and historical references. The first half of the book is regrettably sluggish as the reader begins to wonder how Delaney wrote a 400+ page novel based on a court case concerning the rightful ownership of Tipperary Castle; however, once the narrator, Michael Nugent, is revealed and it is made known that there is a mystery with O'Brian and Burke that ultimately concerns him, the story picks up. Otherwise potentially boring facts and historical events take on a new meaning and fervor as the reader tries to work out Nugent's place in the story beyond narration.

I nearly put the book down, and would have been disappointed to do so because I love Delaney's style and gift of story, but was glad that I hung in there as Tipperary did redeem itself in the end.

[Amy]

I generally enjoy historical fiction, especially when written about a time and/or place that I know little about. Novels such as "I, Claudius" or "Arthur and George" do a wonderful job of illuminating Ancient Rome or nineteenth century London, respectively. With this novel, however, I didn't feel enlightened so much as lectured to, and ultimately confused. I was never able to get a good sense of the characters, and what they felt and saw. Instead, it just seemed to me that the author simply listed facts, dates, names and places. I agree with another reviewer that reference sources were necessary in order to follow the story, but I guess I was never drawn enough into the story to want to consult those sources (and I also feel that a work of fiction should stand on its own, and not require you to do so!)[return]I also don't feel there was much difference in voice between the two narrators, so I was constantly trying to figure out who was speaking. This could be a large part of the reason that I was never able lose myself in the story. I feel it is a mistake to have two narrators, each speaking in the first person.[return]In the end, I don't think I would have finished this book, if I hadn't received a copy through the early reviewers program.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love historical fiction and love books about Ireland, so I was pretty excited about this. Unfortunately, the excitement didn't last. Not only did I want to slap the two main characters (a very immature 44 year old man who falls head-over-heels for an 18 year old ice princess), but the structure is annoying - continuous back and forth between first-person recollections of the main character and third-person narrative by the person who supposedly discovered the journals of this guy. It is a way to insert a lot of explanation and historical trivia, but feels very blatant. The third annoying factor is the fact that wherever he goes, the main character meets up with prominent people of the day (Oscar Wilde, James A. Joyce, Charles Parnell, William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, etc, etc). He has brief encounters and manages to either accept or dispense pithy advice from/to each person before moving on. What is that all about? It doesn't advance the story at all - it's just name-dropping! Grrrr...

[Linda J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An AMAZING tale! A love story woven into a recent history of Ireland read by the author. I listened to this book before and during a trip to Ireland where we happened to be based in Tipperary. This book made everything we saw more meaningful and more beautiful and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Often books read by the author leave something to be desired, perhaps they are better writers than speakers, but Frank Delaney's melodious voice makes this audio book come alive.

I read " Ireland", the first in his trilogy many years ago and this book is similar in that it incorporates a number of vignettes interspersed with a narrator. There are segments of the book in which an Irish farmer describes his passion for his land and next an Anglo-Irish farmer does the same and it was riveting being read by Mr. Delaney but I'm not sure how that would look on the written page ...probably skimmed over by the reader. Perhaps will have to read the book now and see if I still feel as if it was my favorite book / audio book in the past ten years.

[Kaylene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second Frank Delaney book and I thought I was headed into another book like his Ireland! Was I ever mistaken, but the writing and story did not disappoint. It has some similarities and threads of yearning and disappointment, but is entirely different, just like the different parts of the country Ireland are very different. The history that is brought to life in this book, even if in a fictional way, is breathtaking. It brough being in Dublin on my last trip even more dimension because I had more of a grip on what the soldiers might have felt 100 years ago, and what was really at risk for them. We didn't make it to Tipperary, maybe next time, but I think most of the places in those parts of the book are completely fictional.

I very much appreciate Mr. Delaney narrating his own books for the audiobook versions, there is nothing like the writer voicing their own words to inject their own meaning into what is understood by the listener.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a long way to Tipperary, and it took a long time to read this book!

This dense historical novel takes place in late 19th and early 20th century Ireland. Charles O'Brien is a gentleman and healer, and he is madly in love with two things: Tipperary Castle (and Ireland in general) and April Burke. When April Burke takes possession of the castle, Charles becomes even more obsessed and manages to help April restore the big house to its former glory. But that doesn't make her love him. Or even like him.

More than anything, this is a love story about O'Brien and Ireland and Tipperary Castle. It is told (mainly) from two points of view: O'Brien's and the present day narrator's. And our latter narrator becomes a part of the story as well.

This novel is dense and slow. I'm not sure how or why I finished it. But I did.


12/18/07

[Kathleen DuVall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having previously read "Ireland" by the same author and knowing that I love anything that is Irish historical fiction, it was a good bet that I would like this one too. It was interesting in that it centers around a manuscript written long ago that is found and "reprinted". Interspersed into the tale told are the comments from a man who I considered the editor of the manuscript who provided historical reference to enhance the story. The backdrop to the story was Ireland in the early 1900's so there was much reference to the Easter Uprising, the formation of the Black and Tans, Charles Stewart Parnell and other significant events during that time.

I bought this book from B&N just because of the author and setting and now I'm glad that I did as I will read it again.

[Lynn Bornath · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the book was a bit boring and the present-day narrator felt intrusive. I didn't care much for Charles either. He came across as a bit pathetic, chasing after a mostly unlikeable woman who wasn't the least bit interested in him. However, about a quarter of the way into the book, things began to improve. The history became more interesting, more was revealed about the present-day narrator, and Charles developed a backbone (and a personality). By the time I reached the end, I'd learned quite a bit about Ireland's history, I liked almost all of the characters, and I'd decided that I liked the book, too. It was worthing wading through the boring bits at the beginning.

[Candy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I found that I muddled through it, and it really did take me a long time to finish it. I was determined, in the end, to just sit and finally finish it.

It's an interesting account of early Ireland history, from the point of view of a young man (when he started his journal), through the tumultuous years of Ireland's history. As many reviews have pointed out, it does seem to take from Forrest Gump, with notable Irish heroes, writers and poets just conveniently showing up during the course of the young man's life.

I found that I would be a couple of sentences into a paragraph before I knew whose point of view it was. It did drag quite a bit for me, hence the 2 star rating.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Delaney is a master of the sweeping, epic Irish story, and this does not disappoint. The book takes place during the difficult time period as Ireland is struggling for its independence from England. There are several characters who go back and forth telling their part of the story, which can be a bit confusing, but the plot and richness of those characters keep the story flowing. The combination of a long time love story, the restoration of Tipperary Castle, and the revolutionary actions of the groups hungering for independence are the basis of this remarkable novel. It is a wonderful book!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book was full of descriptive language and historical information but I found it difficult to slog through. The second half was much better as the plot finally got moving. I found it difficult and annoying trying to decipher who was “speaking” in the book. This is seldom an issue for me and I often had to reread passages to determine the source of the information. If I had based my rating on the first half of the book it would have rated a three at best. The last half of the book helped raise my score. By the time I finished the book I found that I was glad I had read it. After reading his book, Ireland, this book was a disappointment but still worth the read.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a gem at capturing the 'mood' of the times of e 20th c Ireland. This is a time, place, setting I have not readily encountered in novels. So 'Tipperary" puts some flesh on the bones of history. I do agree with reviewers who state that the point of view jumps a bit and gets confusing at times. There were occasions whereby the book dragged on repetitively and could have been condensed. There is quite a range in the cast of characters, and yes, the descriptions of revamping Tipperary get excessive. I did, however, think the reader is given many tools to construct a picture of just what this village and this life was like back then.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who can resist the Irish love of the language? The character Charles O’Brien tells Irish history with the story of his fife. As he said, for the Irish, history is always more about the “story” than the hard facts. That Charles should meet every important person in Ireland during his lifespan is pretty improbable. But, what the heck, it’s an Irish story, written by an Irishman, so one just goes along for the journey. The language and the descriptions are just a delight. One comes away with a true respect for the irrepressible Irish people and what they have endured.