Thirteen-year-old narrator Dervla O'Shannon describes growing up in a foundling home, her courtship by an old soldier and her outrageous letters about it, Corporal Stack's shocking injury, and her captivity (with the elderly Stack) at a ruined Anglo-Irish estate. 10,000 first printing."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This is a bit of a departure for Hawkes (e.g., Blood Oranges, 1972): a wry coming-of-age novel told from the vantage point of a 13-year-old foundling girl. When the orphans of Saint Martha's are taken to visit Saint Clement's Home for Old Soldiers, narrator Dervla finds herself paired with cantankerous World War I vet Corporal Stack. Soon in love?and this unconventional love story rings true?they "escape," only to find themselves, because of an injury to the corporal, more or less imprisoned in the ruined "Great Manor," populated by the Young Mistress; her obese, drunken brother; and a grim cast of servants. Funny (Dervla's fictional accounts of her adventures to her Foundling Mother are hilarious), fabulous (in the true sense of the word), with a sensuality not always suppressed and suspense to boot, this is great reading from a major author, showing strangely that you really can go home again. Highly recommended for all collections.?Robert E. Brown, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
The long-prolific Hawkes (The Cannibal, 1950, etc., etc., etc.) last offered the tale of a French boy who (The Frog, 1996) swallowed a frog; this time, in a perfect brogue from first to last, an orphaned Irish girl tells how she becomes--but better hush there, since hers is a story that comes down to a single surprise at end. Thistle, however--real name Dervla O'Shannon--was left in a basket at the door of Saint Martha's home for foundlings, a great old pile of stone where, along with 30 or so others, she's raised (in maybe the best brief part of this brief little book) to the edge of puberty--around which time, on a group outing to Saint Clement's home for old soldiers, she meets a WW I veteran and ex-corporal named Teddy Stack (he's wearing his gas mask when Dervla first sets eyes on him), with whom--believe it or not--she falls madly in love. A symbolic embrace of history? A Joycean comment on the fate of Ireland? Whatever, much is in store for our Dervla--especially after Teddy gets kicked by the hoof of a jumping horse in a passing fox hunt, an injury that not only puts him into an amnesiac coma but also into the position (don't ask how) of the aged master of a grand, old, falling-down, gorgeously described manor house--the same half-abandoned house where Dervla (please, no questions) becomes first a scullery maid and then (disastrously) serving maid (she drops a whole roasted pig on the floor) before falling deathly ill, recovering in time to witness a second hunt, see a horse fall disastrously--and hear Teddy, its rider, suddenly knocked amnesia-free, re-declare his love to our Dervla before--but there's an end to it, for now. A bauble, really, and yet nevertheless--told in one long fine poetic unbroken Irish sigh-- the bauble of a master indeed. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting read--Yes. Quality Hawkes--Questionable.,
By Matt Burrows (Walker, MI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: AN Irish Eye (Mass Market Paperback)
Those who know and value the John Hawkes of old (Second Skin, Travesty, Blood Oranges) may be disappointed with Irish Eye. Hawkes, who once said, "The true enemies of the novel are plot, characters, and setting," has forsaken his prior belief with the publishing of Irish Eye. The book itself is a mildy interesting text best representative of a nightmarish fairytale, as it surrounds readers with a unique view of Ireland and tracks the journey to maturity of young Dervla as she strives to find love and her place in the world. Along the way Hawkes treats readers to various interesting characters, of which Teddy seems the only character to represent the Hawkes of old--tortured, confined, and just angry at the world he refuses to give in and comprise. And so Dervla, our wide-eyed and innocent narrator, follows him all the way. Though some may claim Irish Eye to be a nice introduction to John Hawkes, don't let this fool you...these comments are made simply because this book is "easier" to read. Yes, some of Hawkes major themes are present (disorder and obscurity), but the constriction of characters and reactions/truths that arise from this are largely absent. If you're looking for an actual quality introduction to John Hawkes I would suggest Travesty or possibly Second Skin (with Second Skin being the more difficult read of the two). Overall, a major joy of Hawkes is deciphering that which he writes in order to truly understand the human condition and his fragmented, often disorganized novels challenge readers to not only reread numerous passages but ultimately come to their own conclusion of what the text tells them about life. And with this focus in mind, Irish Eye ultimately comes up short. All authors have a glitch in their library of writings and this seems to be Hawkes. An interesting read--yes. Quality Hawkes--no.
4.0 out of 5 stars
beautiful, haunting novel,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Irish Eye (Hardcover)
This is a moving, sad book full of the feel of Ireland and adolesecnt yearning and the smell of peat moss. Lovely! Not Hawkes' best but lovely never the less a great read
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