Ireland
By Frank DeLaney
(Avon Books, Mass Market Paperback, 9780060563493, 651pp.)
Publication Date: March 2006
Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover, Paperback
Categories: Sagas, Historical - General
 |     |
In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O'Mara in the Irish countryside. The last practitioner of an honored, centuries-old tradition, the "Seanchai" enthralls his assembled audience for three evenings running with narratives of foolish kings and fabled saints, of enduring accomplishments and selfless acts -- until he is banished from the household for blasphemy and moves on. But these three incomparable nights have changed young Ronan forever, setting him on the course he will follow for years to come -- as he pursues the elusive, itinerant storyteller . . . and the magical tales that are no less than the glorious saga of his tenacious, troubled, and extraordinary isle.
"Delaney gracefully collects essential myths-and invents a few, too-in his heartfelt ode to the oral tradition."
-Entertainment Weekly
"History, legend, memory and myth come seamlessly together in Frank Delaney's wonderfully engaging new novel, Ireland."
-Washington Post
"An epic novel of history and storytelling."
-U.S. News & World Report
"Miraculous ... As befits its title, IRELAND touches the heart and moves the soul."
-Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Dramatic, adventurous, heroic, romantic, slyly comic ... imaginatively [tells] the history of Ireland."
-Philadelphia Inquirer
"Extraordinary . Delaney is such a fabulous storyteller that the 560 pages fly by."
-Connecticut Post
"If you're a lover of Irish myths and history, there are rich pickings here."
-The Guardian
"Highly recommended . fans of Edward Rutherford's historical sagas will love it."
-Library Journal (Starred Review)
"A vivid rendering of Irish history.. reminiscent of the best of James Michener in scope and sheer crowd-pleasing potential."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Delaney has written an epic novel on the history of Ireland....He's a born storyteller."
-Hartford Courant
"An absolute masterpiece. With this extraordinary novel Frank Delaney joins the ranks of the greatest of Irish writers."
-Jack Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of Edge of Danger
"A remarkable achievement....Frank Delaney has written a beautiful book."
-Edward Rutherfurd, New York Times bestselling author of LONDON and THE PRINCES OF IRELAND
"In the end, IRELAND is, as the Irish themselves are fond of saying about everything from cabbage to castles, brilliant."
-San Antonio Express-News
"A sprawling, riveting read ... the stories utterly captivate ...in this rich and satisfying book."
-Publishers Weekly
 |
1Q84 Haruki Murakami Knopf |
 |
The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |
 |
The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes Knopf |
 |
Death Comes to Pemberley PD James Knopf |
