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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I Won't Get Fooled Again!
Review of the Faber & Faber eBook edition (2012) of the 2011 theatrical production based on the original novel (1960)
As previously reported in my review of the 2017 theatrical adaptation of The Country Girls titled Bamboozled, the overzealous and careless librarians of Goodreads have merged all adaptations of the novel, the trilogy, and the theatrical adaptations as if they were the same book. I found after reading the 2017 version that I could also access the now rare 2011 theatrical adaptation via the Toronto Public Library's Overdrive lending service for eBooks. This time I at least knew what I was getting into.
The 2011 version does differ in several ways from the later 2017 version. There is an extended opening scene in 2011 that precedes the opening of 2017. There are fewer songs in 2011 and some of them are performed differently (see Trivia below). It is still substantially the same play obviously and the conclusion still takes us to the same place. It was definitely interesting to see the author's change in view and what works theatrically over time.
I am still looking forward to reading the actual novel once I am able to source it. Also to perhaps disentangling the Goodreads mashup by separating some books from others.
Trivia and Link
The Irish traditional lullaby "Seoithín seothó" (Hush-a-bye Baby) appears in both 2011 and 2017 versions of the play. In 2011 it is sung by Baba in Act II, and in 2017 it is sung by Kate in Act II.
You can hear a version of the song as sung by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh in a YouTube posting here.
Merged review:
I Won't Get Fooled Again!
Review of the Faber & Faber eBook edition (2012) of the 2011 theatrical production based on the original novel (1960)
As previously reported in my review of the 2017 theatrical adaptation of The Country Girls titled Bamboozled, the overzealous and careless librarians of Goodreads have merged all adaptations of the novel, the trilogy, and the theatrical adaptations as if they were the same book. I found after reading the 2017 version that I could also access the now rare 2011 theatrical adaptation via the Toronto Public Library's Overdrive lending service for eBooks. This time I at least knew what I was getting into.
The 2011 version does differ in several ways from the later 2017 version. There is an extended opening scene in 2011 that precedes the opening of 2017. There are fewer songs in 2011 and some of them are performed differently (see Trivia below). It is still substantially the same play obviously and the conclusion still takes us to the same place. It was definitely interesting to see the author's change in view and what works theatrically over time.
I am still looking forward to reading the actual novel once I am able to source it. Also to perhaps disentangling the Goodreads mashup by separating some books from others.
Trivia and Link
The Irish traditional lullaby "Seoithín seothó" (Hush-a-bye Baby) appears in both 2011 and 2017 versions of the play. In 2011 it is sung by Baba in Act II, and in 2017 it is sung by Kate in Act II.
You can hear a version of the song as sung by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh in a YouTube posting here.
Merged review:
I Won't Get Bamboozled Again
Review of the Plume paperback edition (2002) of the original Hutchinson hardcover (1960)
Front cover of the original Hutchinson hardcover edition (1960) of 'The Country Girls". Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I enjoy joking about the experience, but I don't regret it. It was interesting to read Edna O'Brien's own theatrical adaptations and to see how they changed over time from the original 2011 staging to the later 2017 version. Both stage adaptations were faithful to the novel, but the 2011 had more of a prologue with the country life of Kate and Baba with the 2017 starting almost immediately with Kate's scholarship and the move to the convent school for both girls. Both adaptations included several Irish traditional songs, with the 2017 increasing that element. There were only a few sung and hummed songs in the novel. Both theatrical adaptations use plot elements from the sequel novel [b:The Lonely Girl|694210|The Lonely Girl (The Country Girls Trilogy, #2)|Edna O'Brien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309212126l/694210._SX50_.jpg|2096317] (1962) in order to provide a more uplifting ending.
The Country Girls was a groundbreaking novel with its occasional frank elements of female sexual awakening and its disparaging of the regimen at the Catholic convent school. This caused it to be banned in Ireland at the time. 60 years later these are not that shocking of course. The main theme of the novel is the bonding of Kate and Baba over time (they age from 14 to 18 during the course of the book). Baba actually starts out as being the not likeable bully of Kate back in their country youth. They bond in their years in the convent school and in their plan to escape it. The pair make for a great duo with the daydreaming romantic Kate and the adventurous daring Baba. This was a wonderful coming of age novel.
Review of the Faber & Faber eBook edition (2012) of the 2011 theatrical production based on the original novel (1960)
As previously reported in my review of the 2017 theatrical adaptation of The Country Girls titled Bamboozled, the overzealous and careless librarians of Goodreads have merged all adaptations of the novel, the trilogy, and the theatrical adaptations as if they were the same book. I found after reading the 2017 version that I could also access the now rare 2011 theatrical adaptation via the Toronto Public Library's Overdrive lending service for eBooks. This time I at least knew what I was getting into.
The 2011 version does differ in several ways from the later 2017 version. There is an extended opening scene in 2011 that precedes the opening of 2017. There are fewer songs in 2011 and some of them are performed differently (see Trivia below). It is still substantially the same play obviously and the conclusion still takes us to the same place. It was definitely interesting to see the author's change in view and what works theatrically over time.
I am still looking forward to reading the actual novel once I am able to source it. Also to perhaps disentangling the Goodreads mashup by separating some books from others.
Trivia and Link
The Irish traditional lullaby "Seoithín seothó" (Hush-a-bye Baby) appears in both 2011 and 2017 versions of the play. In 2011 it is sung by Baba in Act II, and in 2017 it is sung by Kate in Act II.
You can hear a version of the song as sung by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh in a YouTube posting here.
Seoithín seothó, mo stór é mo leanabh
Mo sheod gan chealg, mo chuid den tsaol mór
Seoithín seothó, nach mór é an taitneamh
Mo stóirín ina leaba ina chodladh gan bhrón
A leanbh, mo chléibh, go n-éirí do chodladh leat
Slán agus sonas a choíche 'do chomhair
Seo beannacht Mhic Dé agus téagar a Bhuime leat
Téiríg a chodladh gan bíogadh go ló-
Hush-a-bye baby, my baby is my treasure
My jewel without guile, my part of life
Hush-a-bye baby, which is a great pleasure
My sweetheart in her bed asleep without sorrow
Baby, on my chest, may you sleep
Goodbye and happiness forever 'for you
Here is the blessing of the Son of God and may his Bombard be with you
Get to sleep without waking up today. - Google Assisted Translation from Irish
Merged review:
I Won't Get Fooled Again!
Review of the Faber & Faber eBook edition (2012) of the 2011 theatrical production based on the original novel (1960)
As previously reported in my review of the 2017 theatrical adaptation of The Country Girls titled Bamboozled, the overzealous and careless librarians of Goodreads have merged all adaptations of the novel, the trilogy, and the theatrical adaptations as if they were the same book. I found after reading the 2017 version that I could also access the now rare 2011 theatrical adaptation via the Toronto Public Library's Overdrive lending service for eBooks. This time I at least knew what I was getting into.
The 2011 version does differ in several ways from the later 2017 version. There is an extended opening scene in 2011 that precedes the opening of 2017. There are fewer songs in 2011 and some of them are performed differently (see Trivia below). It is still substantially the same play obviously and the conclusion still takes us to the same place. It was definitely interesting to see the author's change in view and what works theatrically over time.
I am still looking forward to reading the actual novel once I am able to source it. Also to perhaps disentangling the Goodreads mashup by separating some books from others.
Trivia and Link
The Irish traditional lullaby "Seoithín seothó" (Hush-a-bye Baby) appears in both 2011 and 2017 versions of the play. In 2011 it is sung by Baba in Act II, and in 2017 it is sung by Kate in Act II.
You can hear a version of the song as sung by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh in a YouTube posting here.
Seoithín seothó, mo stór é mo leanabh
Mo sheod gan chealg, mo chuid den tsaol mór
Seoithín seothó, nach mór é an taitneamh
Mo stóirín ina leaba ina chodladh gan bhrón
A leanbh, mo chléibh, go n-éirí do chodladh leat
Slán agus sonas a choíche 'do chomhair
Seo beannacht Mhic Dé agus téagar a Bhuime leat
Téiríg a chodladh gan bíogadh go ló-
Hush-a-bye baby, my baby is my treasure
My jewel without guile, my part of life
Hush-a-bye baby, which is a great pleasure
My sweetheart in her bed asleep without sorrow
Baby, on my chest, may you sleep
Goodbye and happiness forever 'for you
Here is the blessing of the Son of God and may his Bombard be with you
Get to sleep without waking up today. - Google Assisted Translation from Irish
Merged review:
I Won't Get Bamboozled Again
Review of the Plume paperback edition (2002) of the original Hutchinson hardcover (1960)
“There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again.” - George W. BushAs previously reported in my reviews of the 2017 theatrical adaptation of The Country Girls titled Bamboozled & the original 2011 theatrical adaptation titled I Won't Get Fooled Again, some overzealous and careless librarians of Goodreads have merged all adaptations of the novel and its 2 theatrical adaptations as if they were all the same book. After my initial confusion, I was finally able to source a nice copy of the 2002 Plume paperback edition of the actual novel for the bargain price of $3.50 dollars.
Front cover of the original Hutchinson hardcover edition (1960) of 'The Country Girls". Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I enjoy joking about the experience, but I don't regret it. It was interesting to read Edna O'Brien's own theatrical adaptations and to see how they changed over time from the original 2011 staging to the later 2017 version. Both stage adaptations were faithful to the novel, but the 2011 had more of a prologue with the country life of Kate and Baba with the 2017 starting almost immediately with Kate's scholarship and the move to the convent school for both girls. Both adaptations included several Irish traditional songs, with the 2017 increasing that element. There were only a few sung and hummed songs in the novel. Both theatrical adaptations use plot elements from the sequel novel [b:The Lonely Girl|694210|The Lonely Girl (The Country Girls Trilogy, #2)|Edna O'Brien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309212126l/694210._SX50_.jpg|2096317] (1962) in order to provide a more uplifting ending.
The Country Girls was a groundbreaking novel with its occasional frank elements of female sexual awakening and its disparaging of the regimen at the Catholic convent school. This caused it to be banned in Ireland at the time. 60 years later these are not that shocking of course. The main theme of the novel is the bonding of Kate and Baba over time (they age from 14 to 18 during the course of the book). Baba actually starts out as being the not likeable bully of Kate back in their country youth. They bond in their years in the convent school and in their plan to escape it. The pair make for a great duo with the daydreaming romantic Kate and the adventurous daring Baba. This was a wonderful coming of age novel.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I started this book not realising it was a trilogy. In the end it was just a bit tedious. Quite dated and with nothing “new” to say.
A lovely little coming of age story set in repressed 1950s Ireland and centring on two markedly different girls. This caused quite a stir on release and holds up very well fifty years later. Any time you hear that the Catholics are burning a book, it's worth looking into it. Entertaining. B+.
This was very good but it has left me feeling rather sad. It's not just the disillushionment of leaving adolescence and first meeting the adult world, which I guess is full of the same things now as it was in the 60s. But also for Caithleen Brady. If she hadn't known Baba, and always been "Baba's tool" as Baba's own father puts it, what would her life of been like? What would she have done with herself?
This book covers about four years in Caithleen's life, from 14 to 18, and from the little rural village where she grew up, to convent school, and on towards Dublin where she takes her first steps into adulthood. It's set in the 1960s in Ireland. She comes from a sad home of rural poverty (although she never goes about feeling sorry for herself or using any of this as an excuse), where daddy drinks away the money on drinking binges and comes home to hit her or her mother. So she day dreams of romantic love and a better type of man, a proper gentleman (does he exist? she'll find out), and in fact everyone refers to the French guy who owns a local house with his wife as Mr Gentleman. A man who leaches after 14 year old girls? Hmmm....
From the village to convent school to Dublin, she is constantly with this "best friend" Baba, who is just vile. She is a little bully and a precocious little narcissist who is lacking in empathy or consideration for anyone. It just made me so sad that she never managed to break away from her, and I suspect she won't for the other two books in this series. I suppose Baba is the real life (no one gives a damn about anyone else, take what you can get) to Caithleen's fairy tale romanticism (there's mention of her buying these delicate little handkerchiefs in Dublin and thinking of wearing them with a bracelet, and them blowing off down the river when she's in a boat with Mr Gentleman, for example). In the village Baba shows Caithleen up, makes fun of her, excludes her and is thoroughly vile. At convent school when Baba has had enough, she makes sure they both get expelled, because somehow she can't do without Caithleen. I suppose she's a parasite. And in Dublin she's out after some earthy, no-strings fun with affluent men, putting Caithleen in situations that appaul her more romantic sensibilities.
I'd not really heard of Edna O'Brien before so I had a brief look online about her. This is her first book and it was banned in Ireland! Banned?! It's really not that shocking at all. But apparently this was a repressive time in Ireland and I guess women weren't supposed to be aware of sex (Caithleen may have the desires, but in all her romantic naivety she has been repressed - she mentions that she didn't think women had babies until they'd been married a while - this when she's 18 and thinking of going away for a week with Mr Gentleman. Preparing to have sex and having no idea what so ever.) I also read that the priest of the parish where Edna comes from burned copies of her book. That speaks volumes.
This book covers about four years in Caithleen's life, from 14 to 18, and from the little rural village where she grew up, to convent school, and on towards Dublin where she takes her first steps into adulthood. It's set in the 1960s in Ireland. She comes from a sad home of rural poverty (although she never goes about feeling sorry for herself or using any of this as an excuse), where daddy drinks away the money on drinking binges and comes home to hit her or her mother. So she day dreams of romantic love and a better type of man, a proper gentleman (does he exist? she'll find out), and in fact everyone refers to the French guy who owns a local house with his wife as Mr Gentleman. A man who leaches after 14 year old girls? Hmmm....
From the village to convent school to Dublin, she is constantly with this "best friend" Baba, who is just vile. She is a little bully and a precocious little narcissist who is lacking in empathy or consideration for anyone. It just made me so sad that she never managed to break away from her, and I suspect she won't for the other two books in this series. I suppose Baba is the real life (no one gives a damn about anyone else, take what you can get) to Caithleen's fairy tale romanticism (there's mention of her buying these delicate little handkerchiefs in Dublin and thinking of wearing them with a bracelet, and them blowing off down the river when she's in a boat with Mr Gentleman, for example). In the village Baba shows Caithleen up, makes fun of her, excludes her and is thoroughly vile. At convent school when Baba has had enough, she makes sure they both get expelled, because somehow she can't do without Caithleen. I suppose she's a parasite. And in Dublin she's out after some earthy, no-strings fun with affluent men, putting Caithleen in situations that appaul her more romantic sensibilities.
I'd not really heard of Edna O'Brien before so I had a brief look online about her. This is her first book and it was banned in Ireland! Banned?! It's really not that shocking at all. But apparently this was a repressive time in Ireland and I guess women weren't supposed to be aware of sex (Caithleen may have the desires, but in all her romantic naivety she has been repressed - she mentions that she didn't think women had babies until they'd been married a while - this when she's 18 and thinking of going away for a week with Mr Gentleman. Preparing to have sex and having no idea what so ever.) I also read that the priest of the parish where Edna comes from burned copies of her book. That speaks volumes.
I wish in high school someone could have told me that the literary world of the 1960s wasn't dominated solely by deeply male perspectives like J.D. Salinger and Jack Kerouac. If I had known women like Edna O'Brien were writing frankly about sex, age gaps, power dynamics, infidelity, and abuse, I would have signed the hell up. Easily one of the most honest and insightful writers of that time period.
I was inspired to read this 1960 novel after learning about Edna O'Brien's work when she died this year. "The Country Girls," a brief novel that is the first of a trilogy, follows two girls growing up in the Irish countryside. Red-headed Cait is studious and has what we'd now call a "difficult home life," while her friend (and sometimes frenemy) Baba enjoys a somewhat more well-to-do upbringing and greater conventional beauty -- but less success at school. With spare, unflinching prose, O'Brien sketches the trials of their lives and their meager hopes for a more interesting life in Dublin. "The Country Girls" was shocking in its time, but what shocks the modern reader is how limited choices were even for a very intelligent girl of the era.
medium-paced
This was a BBC Radio 4 dramatisation so may be the reason for my low rating but there was little humour and all very predictable.