The Canal Bridge [Paperback]

Tom Phelan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 2005

The dramatic story of two Irish friends who join the British to fight in World War I despite the troubles tearing apart their homeland.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

TOM PHELAN was born in 1940 and raised in Mountmellick, Co. Laois. He was ordained in 1965, emigrated to the USA in 1970 and left the priesthood in 1977. He now lives in New Jersey, where he teaches English. He is author of two previous novels: In the Season of the Daisies (1993) and Iscariot (1999).

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Lilliput Pr Ltd (October 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843510758
• ISBN-13: 978-1843510758
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,973,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World War One Masterpiece, April 21, 2006

By 

Martha "Martha" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Canal Bridge (Paperback)

The Irish Independent calls Tom Phelan's THE CANAL BRIDGE "Another First World War masterpiece....An ambitious, accomplished and deeply moving contribution to Ireland's formidable corpus of fiction about the Great War."

Books Ireland, the magazine of the Irish publishing industry, describes THE CANAL BRIDGE as "a powerful and deeply affecting novel."

The Irish Emigrant says THE CANAL BRIDGE is "a masterful story...Must be ranked among the more successful of the novels dealing with the First World War."

About a quarter of a million Irish men served in the British army in World War One, and about 35,000 died. Tom Phelan's gripping new novel, THE CANAL BRIDGE, tells the story of two Irish stretcher-bearers (and the lovers and families they leave behind) as they struggle to survive the slaughterhouse that was Europe from 1914-1918.

Due to political divisiveness, Ireland has no tradition of honoring the memory of its WWI soldiers. In writing The Canal Bridge, Tom Phelan has raised awareness of these men and paid tribute to them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Phelan!, July 24, 2006

By 

et (Hudson Valley, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Canal Bridge (Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book, from the first page to the last. Mr.Phelan has honed his writing skills and sharpened his pen (well, computer) to produce this excellent novel of a small village in Ireland and the folks of same who lived through World War I. The writing is good. the storyline crisp, and the characters well defined.
Good job!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing, September 4, 2007

By 

James C. Norton "Séamas" (Long Island, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Canal Bridge (Paperback)

Tom Phelan makes those terrible times come to life in a very special way with this novel. The characters are engaging, the story first rate. He clearly has done his homework, and this is a very moving book. It is one of the saddest things I've ever read.