Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"McCarthy's Bar" and "Round Ireland with a Fridge" (something like that) are both quite comical. "No News at Throat Lake" was a nice read. "Ginger Man" is a fictional novel, obviously nothing like the first 3 I mentioned, but still an interesting read. I went on an Irish book binge last summer and those were the four I got through. No complaints from any of them, and that's coming from a guy who really doesn't like reading novels.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
The Star of the Sea, by Joseph O'Connor.
In Search of the Craic, by Colin Irwin.
Camberwell Beauty, by Jenny Eclair (not Irish).
Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels (not Irish).
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
I dont know if you can get it in foreign parts but for Trad in prose and a good laugh you cant beat 'Grace Notes and Bad Thoughts' by John Kelly, about a guy obsessed with the pipes in general and Liam Og O'Flynn in particular, it's a hoot.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"In search of the Craic" is a recent addition to the Irish travelogues. Subtitled: "One man's pub crawl through Irish Traditional Music." by Colin Irwin.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Few of the books mentioned are novels, to be pedantic (i.e accurate). Last Night's Fun (not a novel) is a brilliant discursive meditation on Irish sessions, tunes, fried breakfasts and rolling your own smokes. Unfortunately it's out of print but I got a beatiful mint-condition hardback copy for a song (or was that a tune?) on eBay.
I just finished one called "Is Shane MacGowan still alive?" by Tim Bradford, bought at the airport because of its title (buggerall about Shane in the book at all). It's not in the class of McCarthy's Bar or Last Night's Fun but is an amiable jaunt through London Irish and Irish Irish pubs. And has some good sections on sessions in Doolin.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
heavy or lite meant Joyce or anyone else
I just finished reading an set of novels by Roger Boylan about a mythical town called Killoye. its got everything from pulling Guinness, terrorist acts with a humber super snipe; out of country minority worjers all sorts of things. You'd swear you've been there. its a good summer read.
I'd chime in for "last nights fun" as well. Good book about music. I've given that away as Christmas presents to non players.
And I think this is the perfect place to ask for recommended reading.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
*Give a glance at Eugene McEldowney's "The Wee Faloorie Man," his novel of Martin McBride, a Catholic boy growing up in post-World War II Belfast, based on some true-life experiences of his wife, Maura. It does have a few of the trademarks of 20th-century Irish biographies, namely the impractical, soft-souled Da and the self-sacrificing Ma, as well as the protagonist's tug-of-war between his adolescent sexual urges and his faith. But there are some quite poignant parts describing changes in Martin's relationship with his parents, not only with age but his discovery of a family secret. What's more, there are numerous references to the Irish music revival of the 50s and 60s.
*There was a comment about Roddy Doyle earlier on. I would heartily recommend most any of his stuff, especially the Barrytown Trilogy: The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van.
*Very enjoyable and witty read is "Bogmail: A Novel with Murder," by Patrick McGinley. It's a darkly humorous mystery about a guy being blackmailed for killing the man who seduced his daughter.
*I haven't read "In Search of the Craic," but assuming it's the same Colin Irwin who wrote for Melody Maker, I can't imagine it _wouldn't_ make good reading. Colin's columns in MM during the 1970s were what helped fuel my interest in Irish/British Isles music in the first place.
Along somewhat similar lines is Scott Alarik's "Deep Community: Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground." Alarik is a singer-songwriter and a journalist for the Boston Globe who regularly profiles performers in the folk and traditional music world. The book is mainly a collection of his articles from the Globe and other publications, and while it's not focused on Irish/Celtic music, there are some terrific pieces on the likes of Johnny Cunningham, Natalie MacMaster, Robbie O'Connell, etc.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Minor corrrection to my post; its spelled Killoyle. Also there is a book by Noah Adams of National Public radio about his adventures trying to learn the piano. If you substitute uilleannn pipes for piano in the book it almost mimics the stuff I've gone through, teachers, humidity, workshops... Not necesarily an Irish book, but a good book about music
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Two of my favorite vaguely music related books are "The Crock of Gold" by James Stephens, and "A Pity Youth Does Not Last" by Michael O'Guiheen.
The first is sort of an avant-garde novel written in the 1920's(?) about what happens when you get on the wrong side of leprechauns. More entertaining for the author's philosophical observations than the plot, but lots of fun. Available for free from http://www.gutenberg.net
Michael O'Guiheen's book is about life on Great Blasket Island before the population was relocated during WW2. It's a fascinating window on a way of life that is slipping away in the rush to modernize, and you can't help but wonder if we would have been better off to slow down and look around a bit more. Not music-related, but gives a bit of context about where the music came from.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Hmmm... Well apparantly Last Night's Fun seems to appeal to me the most, I was pretty much looking for a musical read =D although I'll still consider the other novels as well! Thanks all =D
Btw, anyone read Paddy's Lament? I've only read briefly about it..
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Depends what style you're after.
I really loved 'Motherland' by Timothy o'Grady (American) for its broad take on history and its central mystery, but it takes a while to get started.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Nice one Conan. Roddy’s ‘Star Called Henry’ is indeed a great book. Believed to be the start of a trilogy! Previously unmentioned Patrick McCabe is a truly brilliant read, if slightly psychotic at times: Mondo Desperado for starters.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Cheers John. I didn't know he was continuing in the same vein; if so I will definitely get the next two.
On another note, I'm playing one of Rohan's bodhrán's too. Just brought it over to London recently so it still has to be played in. It'll be a fine drum eventually, though.
Don't have a novel, but I've got a great site for them!
www.readireland.com they've got books of the month both fiction and non and an amazing array of Irish language resources as well..definately worth a peek!~
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"Knocknagow" (or, "The Homes of Tipperary") by Charles J. Kickham first published 1870 describes the depopulation, through the working of greed and the Land Laws, of the fictional village of the title. Kickham's knowledge of the social issues involved and his skill in depicting with accuracy and sureness of touch the lives, customs and characters of Knocknagow compel recognition and sympathy. The novel (620 pages)provides a brilliantly successful panorama and an important source of social history which articulate much of the basic mentality of modern Irish nationalist community. (OK,... so I copied it off the back of the book) It's a good read.
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
I vote for Orson Carte's suggestion of Flann O'Brien. At Swim Two Birds is a book I read a long time ago and I remember it as being wonderfully surreal and deranged. And tender.
The Third Policeman is the one I'd recommend, though. It's a thriller involving a mindbending shade of blue paint, bicycles, mollycules and three policemen. The third one is the worrying one. And you've been arrested by them.
The stuff he did in the Irish Times is brilliant as well.
Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Does anyone know any good Irish novels out there? I'd like to vary my reading, so, yes..
Thanks in advance assuming this doesn't get deleted =P,
Armand
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by armandale
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
heavy or lite???
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by I_Fel
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Whaaa?
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by armandale
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Try anything by Walter Macken especially "The Bogman" if you like a bit of music in the story.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Greenwiggle
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"McCarthy's Bar" and "Round Ireland with a Fridge" (something like that) are both quite comical. "No News at Throat Lake" was a nice read. "Ginger Man" is a fictional novel, obviously nothing like the first 3 I mentioned, but still an interesting read. I went on an Irish book binge last summer and those were the four I got through. No complaints from any of them, and that's coming from a guy who really doesn't like reading novels.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Jason G
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Hmmmm, I may go with the music one... E' possibile... ::makes list::
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by armandale
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
A Star Called Henry, by Roddy Doyle. Not the usual bittersweet comedy, just a very powerful, touching book and a great story.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Conán McDonnell
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
The Star of the Sea, by Joseph O'Connor.
In Search of the Craic, by Colin Irwin.
Camberwell Beauty, by Jenny Eclair (not Irish).
Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels (not Irish).
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Rudall the time
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
I dont know if you can get it in foreign parts but for Trad in prose and a good laugh you cant beat 'Grace Notes and Bad Thoughts' by John Kelly, about a guy obsessed with the pipes in general and Liam Og O'Flynn in particular, it's a hoot.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Frulator
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Anything by Flann O'Brien a.k.a. Myles na Gopaleen. See http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Myles+na+Gopaleen for more info. In fact I think Myles posts to TheSession now and then
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Just a person
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Last Night's Fun: by Ciaran Carson if you can get hold of a copy. This is a great book about the music.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Seasider
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"In search of the Craic" is a recent addition to the Irish travelogues. Subtitled: "One man's pub crawl through Irish Traditional Music." by Colin Irwin.
Interesting Read.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by scottcantrell
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Few of the books mentioned are novels, to be pedantic (i.e accurate). Last Night's Fun (not a novel) is a brilliant discursive meditation on Irish sessions, tunes, fried breakfasts and rolling your own smokes. Unfortunately it's out of print but I got a beatiful mint-condition hardback copy for a song (or was that a tune?) on eBay.
I just finished one called "Is Shane MacGowan still alive?" by Tim Bradford, bought at the airport because of its title (buggerall about Shane in the book at all). It's not in the class of McCarthy's Bar or Last Night's Fun but is an amiable jaunt through London Irish and Irish Irish pubs. And has some good sections on sessions in Doolin.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Bren
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Last Night's Fun is back in print - check yr nearest Amazon
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Q
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Ulysses should keep you going for a couple of hours...
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Ottery
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"Trinity" by Leon Uris.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by rocking bow
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"Lion of Ireland" is an historical fiction about Brian Boru. I can't remember the author right off hand.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Jiml
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
heavy or lite meant Joyce or anyone else
I just finished reading an set of novels by Roger Boylan about a mythical town called Killoye. its got everything from pulling Guinness, terrorist acts with a humber super snipe; out of country minority worjers all sorts of things. You'd swear you've been there. its a good summer read.
I'd chime in for "last nights fun" as well. Good book about music. I've given that away as Christmas presents to non players.
And I think this is the perfect place to ask for recommended reading.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by I_Fel
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
*Give a glance at Eugene McEldowney's "The Wee Faloorie Man," his novel of Martin McBride, a Catholic boy growing up in post-World War II Belfast, based on some true-life experiences of his wife, Maura. It does have a few of the trademarks of 20th-century Irish biographies, namely the impractical, soft-souled Da and the self-sacrificing Ma, as well as the protagonist's tug-of-war between his adolescent sexual urges and his faith. But there are some quite poignant parts describing changes in Martin's relationship with his parents, not only with age but his discovery of a family secret. What's more, there are numerous references to the Irish music revival of the 50s and 60s.
*There was a comment about Roddy Doyle earlier on. I would heartily recommend most any of his stuff, especially the Barrytown Trilogy: The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van.
*Very enjoyable and witty read is "Bogmail: A Novel with Murder," by Patrick McGinley. It's a darkly humorous mystery about a guy being blackmailed for killing the man who seduced his daughter.
*I haven't read "In Search of the Craic," but assuming it's the same Colin Irwin who wrote for Melody Maker, I can't imagine it _wouldn't_ make good reading. Colin's columns in MM during the 1970s were what helped fuel my interest in Irish/British Isles music in the first place.
Along somewhat similar lines is Scott Alarik's "Deep Community: Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground." Alarik is a singer-songwriter and a journalist for the Boston Globe who regularly profiles performers in the folk and traditional music world. The book is mainly a collection of his articles from the Globe and other publications, and while it's not focused on Irish/Celtic music, there are some terrific pieces on the likes of Johnny Cunningham, Natalie MacMaster, Robbie O'Connell, etc.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by sts
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Minor corrrection to my post; its spelled Killoyle. Also there is a book by Noah Adams of National Public radio about his adventures trying to learn the piano. If you substitute uilleannn pipes for piano in the book it almost mimics the stuff I've gone through, teachers, humidity, workshops... Not necesarily an Irish book, but a good book about music
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by I_Fel
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
ok, so I can't spell workers (woejers) either
Oh. where is my staff that's suppose to catch this stuff???
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by I_Fel
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Two of my favorite vaguely music related books are "The Crock of Gold" by James Stephens, and "A Pity Youth Does Not Last" by Michael O'Guiheen.
The first is sort of an avant-garde novel written in the 1920's(?) about what happens when you get on the wrong side of leprechauns. More entertaining for the author's philosophical observations than the plot, but lots of fun. Available for free from http://www.gutenberg.net
Michael O'Guiheen's book is about life on Great Blasket Island before the population was relocated during WW2. It's a fascinating window on a way of life that is slipping away in the rush to modernize, and you can't help but wonder if we would have been better off to slow down and look around a bit more. Not music-related, but gives a bit of context about where the music came from.
# Posted on August 17th 2004 by Gzeg
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Hmmm... Well apparantly Last Night's Fun seems to appeal to me the most, I was pretty much looking for a musical read =D although I'll still consider the other novels as well! Thanks all =D
Btw, anyone read Paddy's Lament? I've only read briefly about it..
# Posted on August 18th 2004 by armandale
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Depends what style you're after.
I really loved 'Motherland' by Timothy o'Grady (American) for its broad take on history and its central mystery, but it takes a while to get started.
# Posted on August 18th 2004 by Cath
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Nice one Conan. Roddy’s ‘Star Called Henry’ is indeed a great book. Believed to be the start of a trilogy! Previously unmentioned Patrick McCabe is a truly brilliant read, if slightly psychotic at times: Mondo Desperado for starters.
# Posted on August 18th 2004 by jdcorcra
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Cheers John. I didn't know he was continuing in the same vein; if so I will definitely get the next two.
On another note, I'm playing one of Rohan's bodhrán's too. Just brought it over to London recently so it still has to be played in. It'll be a fine drum eventually, though.
# Posted on August 18th 2004 by Conán McDonnell
Don't have a novel, but I've got a great site for them!
www.readireland.com they've got books of the month both fiction and non and an amazing array of Irish language resources as well..definately worth a peek!~
# Posted on August 19th 2004 by skyesidhe
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Oh, thanks Skyesidhe! =D
# Posted on August 19th 2004 by armandale
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
"Knocknagow" (or, "The Homes of Tipperary") by Charles J. Kickham first published 1870 describes the depopulation, through the working of greed and the Land Laws, of the fictional village of the title. Kickham's knowledge of the social issues involved and his skill in depicting with accuracy and sureness of touch the lives, customs and characters of Knocknagow compel recognition and sympathy. The novel (620 pages)provides a brilliantly successful panorama and an important source of social history which articulate much of the basic mentality of modern Irish nationalist community. (OK,... so I copied it off the back of the book) It's a good read.
# Posted on August 22nd 2004 by tomvcl
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
I vote for Orson Carte's suggestion of Flann O'Brien. At Swim Two Birds is a book I read a long time ago and I remember it as being wonderfully surreal and deranged. And tender.
The Third Policeman is the one I'd recommend, though. It's a thriller involving a mindbending shade of blue paint, bicycles, mollycules and three policemen. The third one is the worrying one. And you've been arrested by them.
The stuff he did in the Irish Times is brilliant as well.
\())
# Posted on August 23rd 2004 by greenman
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Anything by Jennifer Johnston - great stuff, and all short (always a good thing in a book). Start with "How many miles to Babylon" if you can get it.
Anything by Colm Tobin - especially "The Blackwater Lightship: A Novel"
# Posted on August 23rd 2004 by GerryGaffney
Re: Don't know another place for this but here goes...
Anything by Brian Moore is great. He's Irish, though the settings for many of his novels are not (e.g., Black Robe)
"Lies of Silence" is a tremendous read, with a story based in Belfast.
# Posted on August 23rd 2004 by grego