Irish Emigrant Book Review, No.91 (Feb 2003)

Susan Connolly
Sean Curtin
Patrick Galvin
Biddy White Lennon
Cauvery Madhavan
Alison Norrington
Valerie Price
Thomas Dillon Redshaw
Nancy Ross
Pamalla Stockho

Class Act by Alison Norrington
Two unnaturally well-behaved children, an incredibly accommodating mother as babysitter and a tendency to include the finer details of every bodily function known to man and woman, though irritating, do not significantly detract from the enjoyment of Alison Norrington’s first novel. A kind of “Bridget Jones’ Diary” for single parents, the novel deals with the problems facing thirty-year-old Geri, deserted by the philandering Kevin and left with two small boys to rear on her own. In contrast with Geri’s life of shopping, nappy-changing and housework, her friend Sinead’s life as a successful executive in Spain seems much more attractive - though in the perverse way of mankind, each envies the other’s apparent perfect life. Geri’s efforts to get her life back together, involving a half-hearted, though ultimately successful attempt at dieting, centre round a number of evening classes taken up in the hope of finding another man. Her encounters with candidates both suitable and unsuitable are treated with humour by the author, and the device of interspersing the third-person narrative with Geri’s own thoughts helps to keep the reader on track. In stark contrast with the bumbling attempts of Geri and the questionable advice of her mother is the disaster of Sinead’s relationship with the evil Steven, but both women continue to promote the fiction that their lives are perfect. Geri finds it impossible to tell Sinead that Kevin has left her, while Sinead is too ashamed to admit to the treatment she has received. As with all good romances, the story has a happy ending, with the two old friends who have led parallel, unhappy and concealed lives for an entire year, eventually finding a safe port in a very stormy world. Though some of the characters are a bit vague and some of the scenarios stretch credibility, on the whole this is an entertaining first novel.

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Still Waters Run Deep by Nancy Ross
The author came to writing late in life and this has perhaps contributed to the wealth of experiences contained between the covers of this novel. A story that begins unpromisingly with the incipient disgrace of a Tory MP in Home Counties England develops into a saga spanning decades and continents. The life of Duibhne Shannon (and Ms Ross does seem to go in for the most unlikely names) moves from the world of decaying Anglo-Irish ascendancy to a women’s jail in Oregon and from there to the security offered by marriage to an ambitious politician. The characters are not consistently well portrayed and those who prove most effective are Duibhne herself and Ma, the woman who comes into her life in America and who proves such a rock of strength. The author explores the ramifications of an isolated childhood, a childhood characterised by an inability to communicate between father and child, and the consequent impulsive and naïve behaviour demonstrated by Duibhne. Her pursuit of her cousin Bartley and her subsequent pregnancy are evidence of the lack of a guiding hand, and this lack leads on to a series of tragic events that result in her incarceration. The structure of the story is facilitated by the investigation of the reporter Delphine Blake who has covered the scandal of politician Robert MacCauley and finds that his wife has a much more interesting background than her composure and aristocratic bearing would suggest. The main thrust of the narrative is carried forward by means of this investigation, which reveals many of the apparent anomalies in the life of the Macauley family, including the presence of a mysterious woman and her retarded son. The minor characters in the story, among them Bart Shannon, Silas Tomalin and Bridget Macauley, are less well portrayed, with the erratic journey of the latter pair to the altar lacking credibility. The Irish aristocracy are not presented in a very flattering light - one member having no interest or conversation except hunting and racing, while his brother, the Earl, has a penchant for liaisons with highly unsuitable partners. But the story of Duibhne’s extraordinary life and, to a lesser extent, Ma’s involvement with the Shannons provides sufficient interest to make the reading of “Still Waters Run Deep” a rewarding experience.

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The Raggy Boy Trilogy by Patrick Galvin
In three sections the Cork poet has presented his memoirs, from a poverty-stricken childhood in 1930s Cork to the harshness of a reform school and on to service during the Second World War. Yet through it all Patrick Galvin’s ability to be an observer sees him through the worst vicissitudes of his life and enables him to view life with both compassion and humour. In “Song for a Poor Boy” we are introduced to the Galvin family living on the south side of Cork city. Unusually, it is Patrick’s father who is the more religious of the two while his mother is out protesting about the Spanish Civil War. The young Patrick’s education is augmented by his friendship with Mannie Goldman, the bibliophile who introduces him to all the great authors. Through Patrick’s rambles about the city with his friend Connors emerge a number of fanciful and humorous vignettes, from the man who believed himself to be a seagull, to his cousin Beatrice whose whole life was tied into the world of fish. Patrick’s parents, the music-loving father, supporter of the Treaty, whose greatest moment had been when he bathed in the Ganges, and the mother who supported the Communists in Russia and Spain and was passionately Anti-Treaty, “loved each other and they lived happily together for a time”. In “Song for a Raggy Boy”, a much more searing and intense narrative, we encounter Patrick as he endures three years in a reformatory run by a mixture of sadistic, kind and ineffectual brothers, for an unspecified crime. The cruelties inflicted on the boys by their superiors, the cruelties the boys inflicted on each other, and the seeming helplessness of those who would have made a difference, are tellingly portrayed. Once again, the author seems to have achieved the art of distancing himself from the action; he is able to view objectively the efforts of the lay teacher, William Franklin, and the Superior, Father Damian, to bring some humanity to bear on the lives of the boys in their care. Among Patrick’s fellow-inmates some stand out - among them the highly-intelligent Mercier, who is almost certainly headed for a life of crime, and the pitiful figure of the orphan Rogers, described by Franklin as “one of the most frightened and pathetic creatures I have ever met”. In the recently published “Song for a Fly Boy” we follow the sixteen-year-old Patrick Galvin as he lies about his age and signs up for wartime service in the Royal Air Force. The futility of many of the duties of war is amply portrayed with the fitful perambulation around the African continent by Galvin and Windmill, his fellow armourer, and again we are introduced to a series of unique characters; Sergeant Humphries, in charge of the bomb-dump in Sierra Leone, who spends his days wearing only a tie and a bush hat, lying on a marble slab in his tent; Sparky Dankworth, the pilot shunned by all crews who recites Browning to his Sunderland seaplane; and Pilot Officer Swaine whose main talent lies in drawing indistinguishable portraits of the Queen Mother and Churchill in the nude. Among the quirky and irreverent episodes the author has included some seminal moments in his life, and above all it is the language of the poet that dominates the narrative in this remarkable trilogy.

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The Uncoupling by Cauvery Madhavan
Indian-born but now resident in Ireland, Cauvery Madhavan’s first book, “Paddy Indian” was a sometimes humorous and sometimes serious examination of the difficulties of integrating into Irish society. In her second book the author records the gradual transformation of a traditional Indian marriage, a transformation triggered by the couple’s first holiday away from home. When Balu and Janaki Shankar set off on their whirlwind European tour, organised by their son Ram, they present as a typical Indian husband and wife, he leading the way both physically and mentally, she the dutiful wife who always bows to his superior knowledge. Her sense of duty to her husband in daily life continues into the bedroom where his regular, but unimaginative, demands are met with an unresponsive stoicism. A visit to the red light district of Amsterdam leads to a fundamental change in Balu’s desires and this, coupled with their fellow tourists introducing Janaki to alcohol, leads to a farcical situation in which each manages to misread the other’s words and actions. In an effort to retaliate for slights real and imagined, both end up doing precisely what the other one wants. In giving an insight into life in Southern India, in particular the mechanics of acquiring a spouse, Cauvery Madhavan has successfully managed to address the serious problems underlying the inferior position of women in the sub-continent, while at the same time putting a humorous cast on the events as they unfold on their European tour. The introduction of people in various stages of integration, the liberal Singhs who have lived in England for a number of years and their even more liberal daughters, serves to give a pointer to the way in which the Shankars’ marriage will evolve. The Singhs, the elderly nun and her sister, the four Chicago divorcees, all play a part in the unravelling of the thirty-three-year marriage so that Balu and Janaki return to India as two very different people. And although Janaki has asserted her independence by setting up a tailoring workshop, the lack of verbal communication between herself and Balu persists; but there are other ways to communicate between husband and wife and in this area, at least, there does seem to be a glimmer of hope in the final pages.

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The Parting Glass by Pamalla Stockho
Pamalla Stockho’s novel is a mixture of fact and fiction, the factual events centring on the murder of a college friend in Virginia. Set during the 1970s, “The Parting Glass” draws on national events to successfully convey the ambience of the period, while at the same time focusing on the personal story of Dublin-born Fiona O’Meara, whose family had come to America when she was a young child. The unrest among the black population, the trials of medical training and practice and the emerging sexuality of a young Irish Catholic are intertwined into an engaging story which, though a little slow initially, gradually establishes a hold on the reader’s imagination. The story of Josh, the murdered friend, is perhaps the most successful thread, though it becomes subsumed for a while in the development of the relationship between Michael O’Byrne and Fiona, but the final stages of the story are skilfully handled. Ms Stockho is particularly convincing in her treatment of the character of Daniel, the child who has lost his mother and whom Fiona gradually wins round. Here she displays an insight into the mind of a child and his vulnerability in a troubled environment. While some of the dialogue does not flow as freely as it might, the exchanges between Fiona, her family, friends and employer serve to lighten the darker aspects of the novel.

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New Hibernia Review ed. Thomas Dillon Redshaw
The Winter 2002 edition of this quarterly publication contains an examination by Natasha Casey of the Irish dimension in American popular culture, with particular reference to Riverdance; a particularly topical analysis of Ireland’s neutral stance in past conflicts; an entertaining account of the bitter rivalry between George Moore and W.B. Yeats by Moore’s biographer, Adrian Frazier; new work from American poet Daniel Tobin; an examination of the poetry of Eavan Boland and Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, through Irish, by Dr Riona Ni Fhrighil; and a description by Mary Mulvihill of a multimedia exhibition which includes photographs taken on Bloody Sunday in 1972.

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Winterlight by Susan Connolly
This collection of poems by the Drogheda-based Susan Connolly is redolent of the Louth and Meath countryside. In the title poem, “Winterlight”, she provides a litany of notable places, Bru na Boinne, Beaulieu Wood and Seapoint, in a bid to reconnect with a loved one, while the Boyne takes a central place in a poem remembering the violent death of Bettina Poeshcel, a German tourist murdered near Newgrange, as it “. . . stood still for a moment, then slowly turned away.” In direct and spare language Susan Connolly reflects on the aspects of her childhood, on her development as a poet and the healing powers of nature. The beautifully presented volume of poems is illustrated with the atmospheric photographs of Anne-Marie Moroney.

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Limerick - A Stroll Down Memory Lane compiled by Sean Curtin
If you come from or are familiar with Limerick, or if you were born before or during the 1950s, this collection of photographs is an enjoyable exercise in nostalgia. Many of the photographs were taken just before old cottages, shops or places of business were demolished and details are given as to occupants and replacement buildings. One particularly interesting feature is the provision of lists of names given for individual streets. For example a photograph of Island View Terrace includes a list of almost forty names of families and businesses who were former residents. While many of the photographs are dated, some with an approximate date, a few are unclassified and this is a pity as I’m sure it would have been possible to give at least the relevant decade. The photographs vary in quality but some are astonishingly clear, like the large group of young people caught on camera in the Stella Ballroom in the 1950s, where each and every face is perfectly identifiable. Photographs to catch the imagination include the frozen River Shannon in 1963, a picture of Mick Mackey with the McCarthy Cup and the wonderfully named Glue Yard Lane.

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Quick Thinking On Your Feet by Valerie Price
Acknowledging that many of us are masters of “staircase wit”, defined as the answers we should have given that we remember on our way to bed, training consultant Valerie Price has set out in this book her guide to dealing with problems encountered in a business setting. Her methods are based on the need for clear and effective thinking to convince others, citing ten tricks of manipulation and ways of dealing with them. Each section is illustrated with actual examples of the way in which the technique worked in a particular situation and the final section of the book is devoted to allowing the reader monitor their own progress in achieving their goals.

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Home Baking by Biddy White Lennon
Part of the Best of Irish cookery book series, Biddy White Lennon’s collection of recipes for home baking includes the expected soda breads, barm brack and buttermilk scones but also introduces some more unusual recipes. Featured is the Waterford Blaas, a special type of breakfast roll exclusive to the county, and Yalla Meal Scones, a recipe gleaned from the writings of Florence Irwin who was a travelling cookery teacher in the North one hundred years ago. A brief introductory history of baking in Ireland is complemented by short paragraphs leading into each recipe and a glossary inthe final pages to make this a useful addition to a baker’s library.

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