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

4.0

Another strong outing from Barry, his third collection of short stories, which are populated by oddballs, loners, the lost and sometimes unloved found in the darker parts of rural Ireland. Best for me was the tale of lonely bachelor and the Polish waitress of 'the coast of leitrim', the cat and mouse chase of 'ox mountain death song' and the title story, the pregnant seventeen year old waiting for her older boyfriend. I did enjoy the story of 'roethe in the bughouse' the story of American poet having a breakdown on Inishbofin, (not unrelated to John Lennon and 'Beatlebone' though it seemed different in tone from the other stories. As usual, the sentences are wild and lyrical and fizz with the energy needed, and theres a melancholy and darkness throughout. Perfect collection for my fuzzy and distracted 2020 head.