A review by poorlywordedbookreviews
That Old Country Music: Stories by Kevin Barry

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