The Dream of the Celt By Mario Vargas Llosa, translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010 “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.” Each of his books is a portrait of one or more individuals who set their course against the … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Reviews
Review of Books
Recently published books of Irish and Irish-American interest. Fiction The Blessings By Elise Juska There’s a certain kind of belonging that comes with being part of a large, extended Irish-American family. But, there’s a certain kind of loneliness, too. In The Blessings, Elise Juska captures how those mirror emotions of homesickness and restlessness, intimacy and … [Read more...] about Review of Books
“The Hard Way Home”
Paddy Homan’s newest CD reflects the Irish tenor’s philosophy of life. In the tradition of a lively rambling house, Irish tenor Paddy Homan has been presiding for six years every Sunday night at the Galway Arms Pub, in Chicago, where he is often joined by a retinue of outstanding musicians and performers from the greater Chicago area. He is a regular performer on the stage at … [Read more...] about “The Hard Way Home”
Review of Books
By Irish America staff
February / March 2014
February / March 2014
Exchange Place by Ciaran Carson Ciaran Carson is a writer preoccupied with memory and perception. The author of five other prose collections and ten books of poetry, Exchange Place is Carson’s most recent meditation on these subjects, told through the conceit of a mystery surrounding the decade-old disappearance of a Belfast painter named, depending on who is … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Country Girl – Edna O’Brien’s New Memoir
Edna O’Brien has published the memoir she swore she’d never write. Readers will be very glad she did. "You can write and I will never forgive you,” said Ernest Gébler, Edna O’Brien’s then husband, after reading her manuscript for The Country Girls. Published in 1960, O’Brien’s honest and intimate portrayal of two young women in the Ireland she had left behind was a … [Read more...] about Country Girl – Edna O’Brien’s New Memoir