Review by Booklist Review
A distinguished Oxford scholar and a British comedian each show us a contemporary Ireland blessedly leprechaun-free but, nonetheless, uniquely magical. Eagleton is one of the most renowned literary critics, but that doesn't keep him from writing with unusual clarity and wit. He proffers an A-to-Z of today's Ireland that is breezy but densely well informed and even, occasionally, footnoted, as if he can't help himself (those scholarly addenda prove pricelessly whimsical). Some entries betray his literary training: how many other references on Ireland cover Dracula ("the Irish have produced a number of monsters and bloodsuckers in their time, but this one is the best known") as well as "one of the country's major exports," Seamus Heaney? But from alcohol to craic to Liffey water to potatoes and all the way down to the Zoological Gardens of Dublin, Eagleton fills the book with odd tidbits of fact, ne'er so well and seldom so uproariously expressed. Whereas Eagleton's organizing principle is the alphabet, Tony Hawks' is the outline of Ireland. A drunken bet resulted in his standing by the Irish roadside with his trusty companion, a refrigerator (miniature, but still . . .). The wager had been that he and his fridge could make it, hitchhiking, around the island's perimeter in a month. He made it. But, in true Irish fashion, the fun isn't so much in the story itself as in the telling of it. The fridge goes surfing with its mate, goes to a bachelor contest, and spends a good deal of time in pubs, more in various vehicles. The Fridge Man learns some life lessons about trust and spontaneity but mostly goes along for the craic (see Eagleton for definition). Great craic it is: when Hawks plonks the fridge on a bar stool in Ennistymon, another patron laconically observes, "Ah, sure, it's nice enough to see it out of context." In this book, everything Irish gets decontextualized, nicely enough. --Patricia Monaghan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Eagleton's very cheeky look at the Irish tickles as it informs. Relating the A to Zs of Irish life and culture in brief essays arranged by subject, the Oxford literature professor (Heathcliffe and the Great Hunger; Literary Theory; etc.) employs a mix of statistics and playful humor to point out that, among other things, the Irish are not the biggest drinkers in the world (except for Greece and Italy, they have the lowest per-capita consumption in the E.U.). Avowed revolutionaries, they harbor a tendency, says Eagleton, toward ineptitude: in the 1916 Easter Rebellion "the rebels themselves were mostly poets and intellectuals, rarely the most promising material for a military scrap." Yet they have a fine tradition of strong, independent women, from the pirate Grace O'Malley of the 16th century to revolutionary Maud Gonne and presidents Robinson and MacAleese in the 20th century. Fond of having a good time, the Irish tend to be very religious--when they aren't in one of their anti-clerical moods. The common expletive "fugghan" is the closest most of the population comes to using Gaelic (a Welsh word meaning "wild, untamed"). Eagleton emphasizes that the Irish are proud of their new economic firepower, dubbing themselves the "Celtic Tiger" and making an industry out of James Joyce, who fled Ireland to get away from them. With wry affection, he traces the roots of many customs in Ireland's history as an impoverished colony, and observes that its people may be changing with the country's recent prosperity. The Ancient Order of Hibernians may despise Eagleton's candor, but most Irish will greet it with a smile and a wink. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Although arranged in an A-to-Z format under such words as "oirish," "blarney," and "famine" and labeled as humor by the publisher, this is more insightful and even scathing than sidesplitting. The prolific Irish literary scholar (English, Oxford) has taken on all of the myths and shibboleths of his former homeland and exposed them with his caustic wit. Leprechauns, fairies, and "begorrah" are the first to go, but Eagleton also tackles unemployment, the Irish temperament, literary idols such as Joyce and Yeats, and the morass of Irish politics, northern and southern. Although he inevitably tends to oversimplify, and the level of previous knowledge required varies from entry to entry, Eagleton gives a realistic, no-shamrocks-and-shillelaghs view of life in modern Ireland. Previously published in Ireland, this work includes line drawings by Tom Mathews. Recommended for academic and specialized collections.--Shelley Cox, Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
YA-Who was Maud Gonne? What is a bodhr n? What is the explanation for the phrase "Celtic tiger?" Eagleton offers his views on these and other things Irish in this very readable, sometimes irreverent book. Using an encyclopedic format, he covers the entire alphabet in this slim volume. He starts, naturally, with alcohol. "The image of the Irish as heavy drinkers," he insists, "was often based on Irish immigrants abroad rather than those at home. And immigrants have sorrows they need to drown." Along the way to the letter Z, he discusses such matters as "hedge schools," where Catholic children received their education, usually outdoors, in the era of British rule; "Kells, Book of," regarded by some as decadent because of its obsessive attention to art; "Patrick," Ireland's patron saint, about whom very little is actually known; and other interesting and amusing sidelights to Irish society and culture. The articles are short, ranging from one paragraph to five pages, and are interspersed with humorous line drawings. The size of the book, the length and style of the articles, and the very engaging boy on the cover will appeal to YAs with any interest at all in the Emerald Isle.-Pamela B. Rearden, Centreville Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
