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A review by alba_marie
That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry
4.0
{3.5 stars}
As per usual, Kevin Barry's stories are addictingly weird. His writing is focussed mostly on Sligo, the region in which he (and I!) live. (He's my neighbour and I hope to meet him one day...). This in itself is pretty cool because he's writing about places I go on a daily basis. My local Lidl (which I need to go to soon actually) is mentioned, as is my local pub/petrol station shop (which sadly closed just before the pandemic), and the road through the Curlew mountains which I have traumatic memories of biking up one day last year (it was an exhaustingly long ride). The Ox Mountains and coastal towns like Easkey and Aughris and Enniscrone are mentioned - our local beaches. And Keash mountain up in the Brickleives which I can nearly see from my house! I'm up at the caves nearly every month. It's cool to see this half forgotten region get a little bit of notice!
My favourite stories are:
- The Coast of Leitrim - a story of love and obsession and fear of commitment. It's both tragic and uplifting and shows the changing face of Ireland.
- Extremadura - a tale of a homeless Irish man in Spain, too proud to go home, lonely, ashamed and his newfound four legged companion.
- Who's Dead McCarthy - which I read at first as a sort of personification of Death though that might be wishful thinking on my part. Rather just a tale commenting on the strange relationship that Irish people have with death (something to be feared but also a great party!)
- Saint Catherine of the Fields - which is about collecting and keeping the old traditions alive, in this case, traditional Sean-nos singing.
- That Old Country Music - whose story wasn't that interesting but it was set in my village of Castlebaldwin!
- Roma Kid - which is about a runaway refugee child.
Some of the other stories I kind of glossed over, but all serve to show an Ireland in flux, the rift between east and west, urban and rural, traditional and new. Collectively, the stories address questions of identity and tradition - searching for a balance with this new, worldly Ireland while still keeping hold onto the traditions that make this place special. There are a lot of comments on the state of rural Ireland and how it's been somewhat neglected by the wealthier urban centres in the east and south. Some of the earlier stories I had more trouble connecting with, but overall I really enjoyed this strange little collection of stories.
As per usual, Kevin Barry's stories are addictingly weird. His writing is focussed mostly on Sligo, the region in which he (and I!) live. (He's my neighbour and I hope to meet him one day...). This in itself is pretty cool because he's writing about places I go on a daily basis. My local Lidl (which I need to go to soon actually) is mentioned, as is my local pub/petrol station shop (which sadly closed just before the pandemic), and the road through the Curlew mountains which I have traumatic memories of biking up one day last year (it was an exhaustingly long ride). The Ox Mountains and coastal towns like Easkey and Aughris and Enniscrone are mentioned - our local beaches. And Keash mountain up in the Brickleives which I can nearly see from my house! I'm up at the caves nearly every month. It's cool to see this half forgotten region get a little bit of notice!
My favourite stories are:
- The Coast of Leitrim - a story of love and obsession and fear of commitment. It's both tragic and uplifting and shows the changing face of Ireland.
- Extremadura - a tale of a homeless Irish man in Spain, too proud to go home, lonely, ashamed and his newfound four legged companion.
- Who's Dead McCarthy - which I read at first as a sort of personification of Death though that might be wishful thinking on my part. Rather just a tale commenting on the strange relationship that Irish people have with death (something to be feared but also a great party!)
- Saint Catherine of the Fields - which is about collecting and keeping the old traditions alive, in this case, traditional Sean-nos singing.
- That Old Country Music - whose story wasn't that interesting but it was set in my village of Castlebaldwin!
- Roma Kid - which is about a runaway refugee child.
Some of the other stories I kind of glossed over, but all serve to show an Ireland in flux, the rift between east and west, urban and rural, traditional and new. Collectively, the stories address questions of identity and tradition - searching for a balance with this new, worldly Ireland while still keeping hold onto the traditions that make this place special. There are a lot of comments on the state of rural Ireland and how it's been somewhat neglected by the wealthier urban centres in the east and south. Some of the earlier stories I had more trouble connecting with, but overall I really enjoyed this strange little collection of stories.