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laura_corsi's review
4.0
O'Toole states at the end that he did not feel his life was interesting enough for a memoir and so chose to write a history of Ireland starting from the year he was born to the present. He intersperses his own perspectives of what was happening as he was experiencing the history along with the facts. O'Toole being a journalist in Ireland once he reached adulthood does have some first hand knowledge of major events. I felt this book was very well written and researched and is structured in such a way that allows a non-Irish person to eventually understand the Irish perspective and culture in a way that I never had experienced before. Very well done.
rxchic's review against another edition
4.0
Good book but a little long and lumbering
This book cleverly exudes the stereotypes of the telling of an Irish story or history….long winded, funny but full of sadness, pessimism, and melancholy all at once. This book took me months to read and at one point I was in Ireland while reading it. It changed my perspective in Ireland and my Irish background how precarious it all is. I definitely felt a different vibe than during my last trip during the days of the Celtic Tiger but I think that shift is apparent to all even not necessarily limited to Ireland. Recommend this book for a modern Irish history.
This book cleverly exudes the stereotypes of the telling of an Irish story or history….long winded, funny but full of sadness, pessimism, and melancholy all at once. This book took me months to read and at one point I was in Ireland while reading it. It changed my perspective in Ireland and my Irish background how precarious it all is. I definitely felt a different vibe than during my last trip during the days of the Celtic Tiger but I think that shift is apparent to all even not necessarily limited to Ireland. Recommend this book for a modern Irish history.
sarec's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
darcys01's review
5.0
Stellar- must read book. So well done. Amazing learning experience about what frames the current status of the Republic of Ireland. Fantastic storyteller over all the issues that impact Ireland today.
khornstein1's review
4.0
Dense but good. Helps if you know something about Ireland to begin. There's a lot of hope in how a country can change quickly for the better.
juliacallan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0