Born and raised, in a large Catholic family in the much-troubled Ardoyne district, violence surrounded Mary McAleese’s life from the beginning. Continue reading
Filed under Book review …
New Irish Fiction
The Fenians were an oathbound and highly secret group of ruthless killers, who were much more adept than those presented here. Continue reading
The Pull of the Stars
Book review by James King. EMMA DONOGHUE. The Pull of the Stars, 2020 256 pp. ISBN: 978 1 52904 6168 RRP: $32.99 Since the publication of this novel in July this year, at the height of our first wave of the Australian COVID-19 epidemic, there have been many reviews, mostly very flattering, including one written by Frank … Continue reading
Keneally’s Biographer on Towards Asmara
The New York Times compared Towards Asmara to For Whom The Bell Tolls in its open support for an armed struggle – a big, debatable comparison. Continue reading
Back Home in Derry
In those times, in that place – it is never referred to as Stratford – the names Hamnet and Hamlet are interchangeable, each written or spoken to indicate the same person. Continue reading
The Face of Irish Australian Literature
A review of two books, a disturbing one about Keneally’s literary career, and his unsentimental and searching novel on clerical abuse in the catholic church. And an invitation to read and review the Keneally novels you’ve not got around to….. Continue reading
Recalling Dorothy Day
The Pope named her with Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Thomas Merton as four great Americans. Continue reading
Irish Settlers in South Australia
This author’s style is varied and warm but grounded in truth-finding and truth-telling…. This is also a handsome book. Great thought has gone into its design and format. Continue reading
From The Papers
Short items from past four weeks. Continue reading
Catching the Spirit of These Strange Times
Ulysses’ ‘interiorization’ is one reason why the book is considered to be unfilmable. Ulysses in Plaguetime deals with this problem by having Dedalus and Bloom speak directly to the viewer in Proteus and Lotus Eaters, as if in video diaries. Continue reading
