Reviews

That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry

ultramarinefloorboards's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.0

poorlywordedbookreviews's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.

   

I really enjoyed A Night Boat To Tangier, a play like novel, a bit Waiting for Godot, but with aging Irish drug smugglers, held fast within their chaotic friendship. This collection of short stories is thus only my second book by Barry, but his voice is clear, and there’s no mistaking they are the same author. 

  

Follow a man yearning for the local aloof Polish waitress, a Roma kid fleeing deportation, a teen girl awaiting the return of her baby daddy (and former finance of her mother), a guard tracking the local wayward lothario, the ever present walking obituary….

  

I only disliked one of the stories here, a solid hit rate. The style and language is incredibly evocative of place and person, allowing for a lot to hang off very few words. The stories are full of taciturn, introspective (mostly) men, with a smattering of other POVs - enough to make Barry not just a one trick pony. As that’s the only possible criticism here, that the stories are not very varied. But that does make them cohesive, and since they are excellently wrought, slowly sinking into this place is far preferable to the whiplash of tonal changes some collections aim for. 

   

Expect characters that’ll induce anxiety, even if it’s only at the thought of being trapped in a conversation with them, the vivid claustrophobia of the wide open spaces of north west Ireland, a sense of timelessness to the human condition, and most importantly hope and humour amongst the gloomy fug. 

   

𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘪𝘵'𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺-𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘩

ayami's review against another edition

1.0

Audiobook review
Narrator: Kevin Barry (the author) does pretty well, he manages to avoid the affectation present in some other writers narrating their work
Slurpiness level: Extreme, a lot of loud swallowing and sucking in breath
Speed: perfect, listened on 1.0

Kevin Barry writes beautifully. His descriptions of Ireland just transport you there. But, holy shit, the sexist undertones present took away any joy out of those stories.

I mean - let's take the first story, The Coast of Leitrim - supposedly about a lonely man who is afraid to commit his heart. According to other reviewers this is a wonderful, heartfelt story with a happy end (?!). Did we read the same thing? The man crushes hard on a young waitress, fantasizes about her body and their imagined connection, eventually he asks her out and they do start a relationship, in which he is obsessively jealous and possessive. He eventually dumps her, she goes back to Poland and he can't forgive himself. So what does he do? He stalks her instagram account and flies to Poland to accost her at an internet cafe. Supposedly this is exactly what she was hoping for. I mean, seriously?

Other stories are not much better - in one, a young woman seduces an older man for fun just to revel in her newfound power over destroying his life. The only story I enjoyed was Roma Girl. Somehow Barry has failed at making this one creepy and/or yucky.

My advice: stay away.

duparker's review against another edition

4.0

Once again, Barry's use of language and his ability to take topics or actions and make short stories that are relatable and clever, is impressive. I enjoyed the meanings, tangible and intangible that are present in this book, as well as the various points of view. Highly readable and highly enjoyable.

annemariep68's review against another edition

3.0

Audiobook: started this for St. Patrick’s Day...author narrated it and brought to life these diverse stories. Enjoyed some more than others but overall a nice volume of Irish short stories.

ketevanreads's review against another edition

3.0

Great writing that exudes Irish life, but it's so painfully obvious that these stories were written by a man. Particularly Coast of Leistrum, Deer Season, Old Stock, and That Old Country Music. Ox Mountain in Death Song felt like an ode to toxic masculinity. Who's-Dead McCarthy was good.

beemini's review against another edition

3.0

This book is like if you took a pint of Guinness, shook it with a pint of Baileys, stirred it with a shillelagh, served it in a pub made of Irish peat bricks on a winding Irish country road, while Irish fiddle music was playing in the background. And you sprinkled four leaf clovers on top.

It's Irish, is what I'm saying.

The best stories in this collection are the ones that lean in to the Irish rhythm of speech and humor, especially Toronto and the State of Grace, where an elderly man and his more elderly ma get snookered drinking an entire pub's worth of booze. Who's-Dead McCarthy is a clever gem too. The other stories don't go anywhere in particular. It's just not for me.

greenblack's review

dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

isabelrstev's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

4.75

blyadele's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5