Klondike House - Memories of an Irish Country Childhood [Kindle Edition]

John Dwyer (Author)

Book Description

In Klondike House, John Dwyer recounts his memories of growing up on the remote but beautiful Beara Peninsula in West Cork, Ireland. The author's vivid and colorful stories describe his hard but happy life as part of an isolated but close-knit community, such as:

• His early school days spent in a building with no running water or electricity
• An encounter with a violent sheep that literally turned his world upside down
• The days spent cutting the turf and saving the hay by hand
• An Irish Christmas where nearly everything on the table was sourced from the farm
• His exciting family history that brought his relations to the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada

Complemented by a collection of evocative photographs, each chapter recounts a way of life that has now largely disappeared.
Sprinkled with a selection of fitting works by some of Ireland's best-known poets such as Seamus Heaney and Patrick Kavanagh, this gem of a book is a chronicle of the simple but happy life of an Irish farmer boy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author has a wonderful ability to engage the reader and draw them into the past alongside him...The ways of Ireland's past are sadly disappearing, but as long as people like John are around, they will remain a part of who we are today."
John Dolan, Cork Evening Echo

"As you read this book  you will be in the company of someone whose childhood was interwoven into the fabric of West Cork and who still loves the soul of his own place."
Alice Taylor, international best-selling author of "To School Through The Fields"

A beautiful memoir of an Irish country childhood - IrishCentral.com

About the Author

John Dwyer grew up on a farm in Ireland before going to Limerick to study. He later moved to the USA to work before returning to Ireland. He also spent time traveling in Africa and Asia. His first book High Road to Tibet: Travels in China, Tibet, Nepal and India is about his Asian travels. He lives in Cork, Ireland.

Product Details

• File Size: 424 KB
• Print Length: 122 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: JohnDwyerBooks.com (March 9, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007JWYCW4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,735 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #26 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Travel > Europe > Ireland
  • #71 in Books > Travel > Europe > Ireland > General

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid memories July 15, 2012

By Yulie

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a fun read. It could have been areas in Scotland where I grew up. John really made life on an old farm vivid and reminder of how life used to be. His characters were interesting and it was almost like you might have known them years ago or stories you heard of your grandparents. School was like that. I wonder if my arthritis in my hand knuckles is not the effect of the ruler being used so often on them when I was young.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful! May 29, 2012

By Sheila O'Connor Taylor

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this book! I'm first generation American-Irish and the stories brought back fond memories of trips to Ireland. The storytelling felt so natural & comfortable (and humorous!) that it reminded me of family gatherings where you sip a cup of tea and listen as the storytellers weave their web and no matter where you are, you are magically transported back to the Old Country.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish... June 14, 2012

By K. Worthington

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

After reading of John Dwyer's childhood in Ireland, I wish I could have lived there. In fact, I wish I could live there now. Reading his memories and of his life on the farm was marvelous. I wish the book had been longer. In fact, that's my only fault. I want to know more about him, and his siblings, who are mostly glossed over. This book makes you almost smell the turf as it's being cut, and think about how it must smell in the winter on the fire. Mr. Dwyer, you had an enviable childhood, and thank you for sharing it with us.

More About the Author

When I was thirteen, my mum gave me a world atlas as a birthday present. Little did she know the effect that it would have on me. As I turned each page, I was mesmerised by the pictures of far-away countries and exotic peoples. I wondered what it would be like to stand on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, to see the dizzying peaks of the Himalayas, to watch snake charmers in India, or to see the Terracotta Warriors in China. I spent hours leafing through that atlas in contented silence, studying the pictures on each page with wonder. When I went to bed that night, I made up my mind to go and see those places for myself. My love of travel was born that day.
Before I was old enough to travel to these places myself, I satisfied my wanderlust by reading about the travels of others. I rode the rocky roads of Asia by bicycle with Dervla Murphy in Full Tilt, experienced the magic of old Tibet with Heinrich Harrer in Seven Years in Tibet, and explored the newly opened China by train with Paul Theroux in Riding the Iron Rooster.
I have since kept those promises I made to myself as a child and my travels have brought me all over to world. I finally discovered what it was like to stand on Table Mountain with Cape Town spread out far below me - it was fantastic.
"High Road to Tibet" is my first travel book and describes my overland adventures through China, Tibet, Nepal and India.