Customer Reviews

Irish Wonders

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

 

 

I gave this book 4 stars because I enjoyed reading it.. but the language was something I hadn't expected.. It is written exactly like Irishmen talk.. for an example: Tipperary, whos father was a farmer there, an' had a shmart bit av land wid no end av shape grazin' on it, an' the Tipperary boy was n't bad at all, only as shtupid as a donkey. This was taken from the story "The Rock of Cashel.. So if you buy this book.. be prepared to over look the obvious spelling/language problems but the stories are just as interesting. (I feel this pook should be given 3 and a half stars but I will go up a number instead of down. The book is interesting)

(The book I read was a 1977 reprint of the original 1888 edition, and some of the things I mention here might not apply to later editions.)

This charming book contains many folktales collected around Ireland before the close of the Nineteenth Century. As the title says, there are tales about ghosts, giants, pookas, the devil, etc. A distinctive feature of this book is that the author records not just the tale, but records it in the dialect of the teller!

However, I use the word "charming" because the stories are humorous, but rarely terribly interesting. Also, the author's use of the vernacular, while an interesting feature, requires the reader to pay particular attention when reading, and to be familiar with certain Irish words (e.g. shebeen, poteen, omadhawn, etc.).

As such, I would not call this a great book, but it is a good one - a charming one.

(The book I read was a 1977 reprint of the original 1888 edition, and some of the things I mention here might not apply to later editions.)

This charming book contains many folktales collected around Ireland before the close of the Nineteenth Century. As the title says, there are tales about ghosts, giants, pookas, the devil, etc. A distinctive feature of this book is that the author records not just the tale, but records it in the dialect of the teller!

However, I use the word "charming" because the stories are humorous, but rarely terribly interesting. Also, the author's use of the vernacular, while an interesting feature, requires the reader to pay particular attention when reading, and to be familiar with certain Irish words (e.g. shebeen, poteen, omadhawn, etc.).

As such, I would not call this a great book, but it is a good one - a charming one.

Great stories of Irish legend and folklore, written mostly as told by Irish peasantry in their native dialect.

The book was good once you figure out what they are saying. It should have came with a glossary to translate words. The stories themselves were interesting though, but I had to read it twice to understand it all. I would recomend it if you have the patience

I love all things Irish! However, this book is useless. The vast majority of the book is written, as one reviewer put it, like the Irish speak. This makes the book completely unreadable- I tried a few chapters and gave up. It took so much concentration to figure out what the words were, that I couldn't string them together to form a logical thought. This may have well been written in Gaelic. If this book gets translated into proper English, I'll be the first in line to buy it. Until then, I'll enjoy the pretty pictures...