Irish Country Doctor [Paperback]

Patrick Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2009

Barry Laverty, M.B., can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree and little else in the way of worldly possessions, Barry jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice.

At least until he meets Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly.

The older physician, whose motto is to never let the patients get the upper hand, has his own way of doing things. At first, Barry can’t decide if the pugnacious O’Reilly is the biggest charlatan he has ever met, or the best teacher he could ever hope for. Through O’Reilly Barry soon gets to know all of the village’s colorful and endearing residents, including:
 
A malingering Major and his equally hypochondriacal wife;
 
An unwed servant girl, who refuses to divulge the father of her upcoming baby;
 
A slightly daft old couple unable to marry for lack of a roof;
 
And a host of other eccentric characters who make every day an education for the inexperienced young doctor.
 
Ballybucklebo is long way from Belfast, and Barry is quick to discover that he still has a lot to learn about the quirks and traditions of country life. But with pluck and compassion and only the slightest touch of blarney, he will find out more about life—and love—than he ever imagined back in medical school.

An Irish Country Doctor is a charming and engrossing tale that will captivate readers from the very first page—and leave them yearning to visit the Irish countryside of days gone by.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A straitlaced novice doctor gets initiated into the unorthodox world of a crafty rural sawbones in Taylor's American debut. Barry Laverty is fresh out of school and uncertain about what type of medicine he should practice when he answers an ad for a physician's assistant in Ballybucklebo, a small Northern Ireland town populated, it seems, entirely by eccentrics. Laverty is initially taken aback by his new boss, Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, whom he meets as O'Reilly is literally throwing a patient out of his office. Laverty spends most of the novel swaying between understanding O'Reilly's methods and second-guessing the boxer turned doctor who dishes out plenty of placebos and isn't above telling a white lie or a crude joke to worried patients. Though Laverty often comes across as painfully uptight, he also has an endearing-for-its-awkwardness streak that only surfaces around Patricia Spence, though she'd rather focus on her civil engineering studies than make time for a boyfriend. Serving as a foil to all the innocent fun is the lecherous, greedy Councillor Bishop, who, thanks to a scheming O'Reilly and a reluctant Laverty, gets his comeuppance. Despite the occasional whimsy overload, Taylor's novel makes for escapist, delightful fun. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Patrick Taylor, MD, is a man of words and he is a healing physician, too. Do not be deceived by the title on the cover as the book is only incidentally an Irish location - it deals with eccentric, funny humans, dogs, cats and cattle. This book is written with compassion and hilarity about a community whose inhabitants are as wonderful and loony as any on earth. The doctor's patients are not simply out-of-order machines, they are living human beings who need love and reassurance, which the good doctor freely dispenses. A grand read from a grand man"--Malachy McCourt, New York Times bestselling author of A Monk Swimming
 
"At last! Here is an authentic Northern Ireland voice telling down-to-earth stories that could happened anywhere on the island. A full cupboard of delightful characters, both human and animal, enrich every page. Quirky, funny, and deeply moving by turns, Taylor's writing perfectly captures the language and character of Ulster in times gone by. I promise you will enjoy this book immensely; I did."--Morgan Llywelyn, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Prince of Ireland
 
"In a style joyously reminiscent of James Herriot, Dr. Taylor conjures up the rural Irish town of Ballybucklebo that is a pleasure to visit and very difficult to leave. I had a hoot following the humorous and at time poignant exploits of the irascible family doctor, Fingal O'Reilly, and his young, wide-eyed (and very urban) apprentice, Barry Laverty, as they confront all manner of man and beast in the eccentric but lovable town. I can hardly wait for more."--Daniel Kalla, international bestselling author of Rage Therapy
 
"Wraps you in the sensations of a vanished time and place. Like Barry Laverty [the hero of the novel] you join the household. You meet his eccentric housekeeper, Kinky (short for 'Mrs. Kinkaid'), who tends to come bustling in with a tray, saying things like: 'Tea, and bit of toasted, buttered barmbrack.'"--Vancouver Sun
 
"With an unerring eye for detail, the talents of a natural storyteller and the ability to pepper his anecdotes with large doses of wit and humor, Patrick Taylor has written a delightful novel…the lives of the engaging and eccentric townspeople, whose hilarious mishaps provide a perfect foil for the endeavors of the town's medical men."--Calgary Herald

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Brandon (February 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863224008
• ISBN-13: 978-0863224003
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,074,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patrick Taylor, M.D., was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland. After qualifying as a specialist in 1969, Dr. Taylor worked in Canada for thirty-one years. He now divides his time between Canada and Ireland. www.patricktaylor.ca

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Literacy is important so you can read books like this, May 26, 2007

By 

Marilyn Dalrymple "MaLing" (Lancaster, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: An Irish Country Doctor (Hardcover)

The novel An Irish Country Doctortakes place in the 1960s, and although medical miracles are beginning to appear, the good Dr. O'Reilly practices his own medicine, his own way of treating this town full of eccentric patients. And he treats them very successfully, thank you.

Dr. Laverty, on the other hand, insistsmodern medicine and going strictly by the rulesare the only ways of properly healing patients.

It doesn't take long for Laverty to find a love interest, the beautiful Patricia Spence, a young lady determined to become an engineer.She soon becomes one of the many stumbling blocks Laverty must overcome to be the person and the doctor he wants to be.

As Laverty works as O'Reilly's assistant, he learns about love, loss of love and the hard knocks life can dish out in general and that he is not immune to experiencing some of life's more difficult situations himself.

Author Patrick Taylor has produced a beautiful story, intelligently written and filled with interesting characters. Richly illustrated with word pictures, the reader easily sees the beautiful Irish landscape, the rag-tag populace - O'Reilly's patients - that joyfully fill this novel's pages. Animals play an important role in the story. Laverty soon learns that everything has the ability to teach him something. I truly became involved in the lives of the doctors and their supporting cast of characters. The novel doesn't hold many surprises, but it is so lyricallywritten that it held my attention from the first page until the last.

The back of the book has a glossary which translates the "Ulster-Scots dialect," which is generously used throughout the book and lends much color and interest to the story, but does indeed, look like a foreign language to the uninitiated.

There is also an Afterword by Mrs. "Kinky" Kincaid, O'Reilly's faithful and wise housekeeper and cook. This portion of the novel offers a few of Mrs. Kincaid's recipes.

I found An Irish Country Doctor to be a refreshing change from the novels that line the shelves of today's book stores. If I had to put the book down while reading, I couldn't wait to get back to it, and for me, that's the sign of a good book.

The author was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland and did indeed work at one time as a doctor in rural Ireland. That's why his novel rings with such authenticity.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book, 'An Irish Country Doctor', June 26, 2007

By 

Judy H. "; love to read" (Brooklyn, Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Irish Country Doctor (Hardcover)

This book is just a wonderful read. It is set in the 1960's era, and is about a young med-school graduate who takes his first job in a little northern Irish village, joining an elderly doctor in family practice. It is very heart-warming, and holds your interest to the very last page. The author, Patrick Taylor, is a medical doctor himself. I am anxious to read any future books he writes.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Irish Doctor, March 31, 2007

By 

James Toomey (Aurora Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Irish Country Doctor (Hardcover)

This is an interesting book on Irish Life. If you like Irish ways and have an interest in medicine, this is your book. The interplay between the older General Practioner and his new, young assistant MD is very fascinating. They have adventure after adventure with their patients - both those who come to the "surgery" in the morning and the ones they visit on house calls in the afternoon. Kinky, the housekeeper, is an excellently drawn character who offers a great sample of the Irish brogue and Irish ways. I enjoyed this book.

James Toomey