Ireland Book Haul

Ireland: a book haul

I recently traveled to Ireland with the intention of being a nanny and after three days at the home I was meant to work in, I packed my bags and left. Long story short, it turned out to be more "Turn of the Screw" than "Jane Eyre." The story has a happy ending though, because I traveled across the country for a whole month and took the opportunity to stop into every single bookstore that crossed my path. Below are the photos, descriptions, and comments about the nine treasures I brought home. I've also made a list of books that I wanted to buy but did not, due to lack of funds and limited luggage space. Enjoy!

The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen

(With an introduction by Victoria Glendinning, Penguin Vintage Classics)

"The Irish troubles rage, but up at the 'Big House', tennis parties, dances and flirtations with the English officers continue, undisturbed by the ambushes, arrests and burning country beyond the gates. Faint vibrations of discord reach young Lois, who is straining for her own freedom. She will witness the troubles surge closer and reach their irrevocable, inevitable climax."

Okay, so I'm almost certain that I read this book six years ago in either my Irish Literature course or my Postcolonial Literature course. I've never been able to trace it down because all I've ever remembered about it was that it included the upper class, the summer, and Ireland, which, as you'll see throughout this list, is not that unique. Even still, the images and the feeling of this book was so completely vivid that it's haunted me in its own small way these past six years. I think it's worth another go, and I've been meaning to get in on some Elizabeth Bowen!

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

(FABER & FABER)

"After signing up for the US army in the 1850s, barely seventeen, Thomas McNulty and his beloved brother-in-arms, John Cole, fight in the Indian Wars and the Civil War. Having both fled terrible hardships, their days are now vivid and filled with wonder, despite the horrors they both see and are complicit in. But when a young Indian girl crosses their path, Thomas and John must decide on the best way of life for them all in the face of dangerous odds."

When I first escaped my wretched bondage that was the three-day nanny gig, I caught a bus to a town called Tramore where I was greeted by the sweetest Airbnb host, Ciarán. He really made me feel at home, and it didn't take long for us to get talking about books. He recommended this author to me and I bought the book in Cork about a week later. I can't wait to see if this recommendation holds up, especially since I'm such a sucker for anything Civil War-related. Yes, Ulysses S. Grant is my historical crush and I love him with all the fish in the river. 

The Crying of the Wind: Ireland by Ithell Colquhoun

(Forward by Jennifer Higgie, Pushkin Press Classics)

"Into the lushly green, windswept landscape of 1950s Ireland arrives painter Ithell Colquhoun. She embarks on a tour of the island guided by her artist's eye, her feeling for the world beyond our own, and her razor-sharp wit. Tramping the hills of Connemara and carousing through Dublin with Colquhoun, we encounter faeries and pagan rituals, ruined churches and Celtic splendour, rowdy bohemians and landowners fallen on hard times. Full of eerie magic and sly humour, this classic travelogue gives us  Ireland as only Colquhoun could see it."

Did I buy this because I was projecting my situation onto the book's protagonist? Yes, yes I did. Like Colquhoun, I wandered wherever I felt drawn and yet I still scratched the surface of all that Ireland is. I wanted to see what it would be like if I'd taken another route, Colquhoun's route. This book was also at the front of every single bookshop and I guess I finally got tired of passing it by. 

Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

(Introduction and Notes by Dr. Howard J. Booth, Wordsworth Classics)

"This novel is Lawrence's semi-autobiographical masterpiece in which he explores emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and his suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers. Lawrence's novels are perhaps the most powerful exploration in the genre in English of family, class, sexuality and relationships in youth and early adulthood."

Y'all already know I love this author, and while I've heard a few conflicting remarks about this book (mainly that Lawrence conducts a patronizing analysis of his own f-boy behavior), I'm still willing to give it a try. He just has a way of dissecting relationship dynamics to a psychologically microscopic level, and with such style, that I always end up swooning by the end of each chapter. Sidenote: Wordsworth editions were some of my favorite books to look at. I'm shocked I didn't buy any Jane Austen books from this publisher. It took more self-control than anyone may ever realize. 

Summer by Edith Wharton

(Penguin Classics)

"Seventeen-year-old Charity Royall is desperate to escape life with her hard-drinking adoptive father. Their isolated village stifles her, and his behaviour increasingly disturbs her. When a young city architect visits for the summer, it offers Charity the chance to break free. But as they embark on an intense affair, will it bring her another kind of trap? Regarded by Edith Wharton as among her best novels, Summer caused a sensation in 1917 with its honest depiction of a young woman overturning the rules of her day and attempting to live on her own terms."

Another classic summer read. I haven't read anything by Edith Wharton yet, the book is small, and any book who's description includes "intense affair," ESPECIALLY if it involves a lonely female character, is definitely up my alley.  

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

(Foreword by Robert Redford, The University of Chicago Press)

"From its first magnificent sentence, 'In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fishing', to the last, 'I am haunted by waters', A River Runs Through It is an American Classic. Based on Norman Maclean's childhood experiences, A River Runs Through It has established itself as one of the most moving stories of our time; it captivates readers with vivid descriptions of life along Montana's Big Blackfoot River and its near magical blend of fly fishing with the troubling affections of the heart."

I don't even know where to start. I've been thinking of nothing else but this book and its film for weeks now, even while I was in Ireland. I recommended the movie to several people while I was there and, after starting it this past week, it seems to be a faithful adaptation. There's this voice, a strictly American voice, that Maclean is able to tap into and wield so wonderfully. It's the same tone of voice used in Dances With Wolves as well as anything Hemingway ever wrote. Simple prose that pack a punch and make you feel stoic, heartbroken, and held all at the same time. I love it so far and I love that it depicts my home the way it really is: beautiful and tragic. 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

(Preface by P.B. Shelley, 1818, Penguin English Library)

'A twisted, upside-down creation myth, Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale lays bare the dark side of science, and the horror within us all. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who plunders graveyards to create a new being from the bodies of the dead--but whose botched creature causes nothing but murder and destruction. Written after a nightmare when its author was only eighteen, Frankenstein gave birth to the modern science fiction novel." 

Hardly in need of an introduction, still I love thinking about this book. My thesis contained strong thematic ties to Frankenstein. Why? Because it's one of the best books ever created. I bought this copy simply because there's never been an American edition that has captured it the way it deserves. Too many people see the science fiction element and feel the need to blanket the story in neon colors and cartoonish illustrations. But to me, the story is one of moral exigence that deserves contemplation across the centuries. That, THAT, is romance. 

Love and Summer by William Trevor 

(Penguin Books)

"It is summer and a stranger has come to quiet Rathmoye. He is noticed by Ellie, the young convent girl, who is married to Dillahan, a farmer still mourning his first wife. Over the long and warm days, Ellie and the stranger form an illicit attachment. And those in the town can only watch, holding their tongues, as passion, love and fate take their inevitable course."

I AM SOOOO excited for this one, and I really couldn't tell you why, other than the fact that it's another summer affair. I love love love repressed desire, and when its set in summer, the time when everything is blooming with life and heat and color, the repression becomes, well, unrepressed. And boom! it's set in Ireland, too! Flipping through a few pages, the author seems to have a gentle, subtle voice, but I expect that suits the tone of this particular story very well. 

The Heart of the Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov

(With an introduction by Andrey Kurkov, Penguin Vintage Classics)

"A rich, successful Moscow professor befriends a stray dog and attempts a scientific first by transplanting into it the testicles and pituitary gland of a recently deceased man. A distinctly worryingly human animal is now on the loose, and the professor's hitherto respectable life becomes a nightmare. An absurd and superbly comic story, this classic novel can also be read as a fierce parable of the Russian Revolution."

While it's definitely the wild card of the bunch, I've been following a youtuber for some time now that always speaks highly of this book. While my knowledge of Russian history is lacking, I'm sure I'll find something to love in it, and if it makes its way onto this blog as a review, I'll be sure to advertise it as "the only dog book  out there that won't make you bawl your eyes out."

BOOKS I WANTED TO BUY BUT DIDN'T:

- Mouthing by Orla Mackey

- The South by Colm Tóibín 

- Saints: Medieval Legends of Heroes, Humans and Magic by Amy Jeffs

- The English Teacher by Lily King

- The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

- Quickly, While They Still Have Horses by Jan Carson

- The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

- A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry 

- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

- Heartburn by Nora Ephron

- The Children of Lir by Laura Ruth Maher

- East of Eden by John Steinbeck

- The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem

- Mere by Danielle Giles

- Thirty-Two Words for Field by Manchán Magan

- Listen to the Land Speak by Manchán Magan

- Charlotte by Martina Devlin 

- Stories of Ireland by Brian Friel

- Irish Ghost Stories by Padraic O'Farrell

- (all of the books by Rebecca Miller)

- A Death on Location by Richard Coles

- Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

- The Penguin Book of The Prose Poem from Baudelaire to Anne Carson

- A Quiet Tide by Marianne Lee

- This Is Happiness by Niall Williams

- The Ruin of all Witches by Malcolm Gaskill

- The Coast Road by Alan Murrin (I actually bought this but it's still in my suitcase and I'm too tired to go take a photo of it and write about. Just know I bought it and I'm going to read it).

- A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa (thought my friend Cheyann would like this one, and I'm done putting the accents in all these Irish names, sorry)

- Irish Myths and Legends by Lady Augusta Gregory

- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (WORDSWORTH CLASSICS)

- A Life Among The Dead: Stories from and Irish Funeral Director by David McGowan

- The City Changes Its Face by Eimear McBride

- Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams

- The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam