Customer Reviews

Fables of the Irish Intelligentsia

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A great little book that everyone should read tongue in cheek. Ireland needs storytelling that can break a way out from under the influence of McGahern and Trevor, two towering influences. Fitzpatrick is erudite and witty, yet her stories retain an almost mythical quality.

This is short story writing at its best: witty, intelligent, very well constructed and with unexpected, puzzling endings. The language is superb, with different styles, jargons and flavours.
Brilliant and very amusing observations of social fads and phenomena, not necessarily Irish only.
In my opinion: instant classic.

Maybe I was expecting something different from the cover copy, and from the few pages I read before buying this book. However, while it shows superb writing skill and a wonderful use of words, I found the stories a little too cynical and depressing for my liking. I did laugh out loud now & then... but not enough, and that's what I'd bought the book for.

If you're looking for fine Irish literature, this is probably a good choice. If you also want a lot of laugh-out-loud humor, you might want to look at other titles.