Reviews

I love Kevin Barry's work. That Old Country Music is his newest collection of stories, and as good as his past collections have been, this one feels somehow even more present, even more inhabited. Following the loves and losses, the violence and the beauty of its characters, the collection is quiet and intimate--and often unsettling. These are characters that do not expect you to like them. They simply exist. They fight and love and explore the world. They find hope. They experience loss. They are selfish, and they find solace in the presence of others.

Barry's voice is remarkable. He captures poetry and place and plums the depth of experience as he turns stories of even the simplest moments into profound and lingering reflections of what it means to age, to dream, to live. His writing is rich, his perspective wholly his own--and I am always happy to return to the landscapes and lives he brings into being on the page.

dremps92's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

livresdeliv's review against another edition

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2.0

I would've loved the pacing of this book due to the short page counts of the stories, but most of them were not engaging enough to take the time they ought to. This tiny book took me a month to read. I was busy while reading it which was definitely a factor, but I definitely could've gone faster.

The style of writing is difficult to give an opinion on. On one hand, I liked that it could be very beautiful while simultaneously sounding like a random old Irish man in a pub. On the other hand, the latter quality made it hard to understand. It also meant that it would sometimes be too informal to the point it just wasn't that impressive.

What sealed the two stars for me was that a lot of the material was quite sketchy, like that of Under the Dome by Stephen King. I gave Under the Dome three stars due to the story being one I could immerse myself in and enjoy, and this one didn't even have that.

debbiecuddy's review against another edition

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3.0

These stories are very well written, but some were too dark for my taste. My favorites were Toronto and the State of Grace and Roma Kid, I'll thinking about these two stories for a long time.

23149014345613's review against another edition

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4.0

Really beautiful, poetic prose. Barry creates intriguing, layered characters and situates them in scenic Ireland with a steady and delicate hand. As always with a short story collection, some resonated more with me than others, and reading them all in one sitting, my attention began to flag toward the end. Well worth your time, especially if, like me, you trend toward the "abiding sense of tragedy, which sustain[s] through temporary periods of joy" (Yeats).

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