May the Family Fiction of the Irish Be With You

In honor of St. Paddy's Day, everyone thinks of Ireland in the month of March. So, if you like reading fiction about Irish families and Irish family life and their tenacious spirit, here are a few suggestions:

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright
This is a simple tale of adultery and its consequences, told from a female perspective. It is set in the basically secular environment of 21st century Dublin - and is a brave and unusual variation on a familiar theme with sharp and funny observations. Enright's interest is not so much in the broad shape of the affair so much as its texture, its moment-by-moment shifts of feeling and perception.

Shannon by Frank Delaney
This novel follows an American priest as he travels along Ireland's Shannon River in search of his family roots, and while seeking peace, trouble finds him.  It is an adventurous tale of forbidden love, civil war, death, and other things Irish.  If you love Ireland, you'll find this a rare read.

Woman of the House by Alice Taylor
Taylor's novel traces three generations living on a farm in rural Ireland and their conflicts. The story defines what family is, the struggle to love a member whose behaviors are hurtful to other family members, the pain of losing a member and the difficulties associated with accepting a new member. Set in the 1950's, this is a wonderfully warm, charming story of Irish life lived close to the earth.

The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
Lucy Gault grows up a Protestant in a Catholic part of Ireland in the 1920s. An only child, she enjoys an intimate relationship with her parents and is wedded to her family's lavish country home, the nearby beach and woods, and the house staff. When Lucy's parents decide to flee the persecution of arsonists and move to England, her life takes an unforeseen turn. Tragedy and heartbreak will haunt the Gault family, and their lives do not proceed as expected.  Trevor gives gives us a poetic sense of the Irish character and countryside and magically evokes the passage of time.  It is a beautiful legendary story of love and redemption.

Paddy Clarke, Ha-Ha-Ha by Roddy Doyle
This book is a vivid and poignant portrait of a little boy trying to make sense of the adult world. As Paddy Clarke himself would say, it is "brilliant."  It portrays the daily exploits and thoughts of a 10-year-old Irish boy. As the story progresses, readers become more and more aware of the anguish that Paddy Clarke is feeling as he becomes conscious of the impending breakup of his parents' marriage.
It is powerfully written. Doyle, one of Ireland's most captivating novelists, won the Booker Prize for this extraordinary tale.

Blood Ties by Jenifer Lash
Set mainly in Ireland, Jennifer Lash's dark, exhilarating novel is about the redemptive power of love. It tells of Violet Farr and her loveless marriage, her wild, unfathomable son and his illegitimate son, all of them bound together in a repeating pattern of exile and homecoming, rejection and, finally, acknowledgement and love. It is an emotionally draining but very rewarding tale.

Other Side by Mary Gordon

Both Ellen and Vincent left Ireland in the early part of this century, one bitterly escaping shame, humiliation, and fear; the other filled with hope for the promise and future of America - the "other side." Gordon writes of family passage and change and that the generational struggle to find a common ground can be resolved only in the realm of the heart.

Cashelmara by Susan Howatch
Rich, gosssipy tale and mighty saga of a wealthy and titled English family in Ireland during the 19th century.

Hope you're lucky enough to enjoy a fine family read from this wee list!