Irish Books

The first time I read this book was about 10 years ago and then sort of lost track of it.Upon coming across it recently,I marvelled at it anew--this is the stuff of childhood memories and warm fuzzy reading sessions to be shared with your kids.The amazingly witty rhymes are indeed a treasure.

Yes, Yes, Yes! Please get the publishers to publish the book. I want to gift this book to a dozen people I know. Delightful verses, charming illustrations too.

In short, this is a feast for the mind and for the ears. Try reading the poems out loud and u'll know what i mean. Ten beautiful fairy tales taken and woven into pages of beautiful humourous poetry, what else would you want? I could not resist reading them 4 times... do buy them u'll REEEELY enjoy them.

Traditional stories from all over the world told in rhyming couplets. I am amazed at the rhymes that Vikram Seth came up with to tell these tales....and that he says he wrote the first poem becuase it was too hot to concentrate on his (real?) work!
I have this is hardcover. It's a keeper!

Everything is great about these poems. The rhymes are clever, beautiful and very often funny. In the tales the good wins from the bad, but after trial and tribulations, and always in unexpected ways. One of my favourite lines is about a goat and a ram: "They ate with pride as if to balance, their total lack of other talents". But quoting excellent lines would take about as long as the book itself.

These are not children's rhymes, but I read them to my sons of 10 and 13 years old and we all three have a great time.

Having convinced my husband to eat vegetarian meals four times a week, I was determined that they be something special. This book made it easy. The recipes are straightforward and simple, but not simplistic, highlighting the taste of each featured vegetable. My husband was impressed -- and never missed his meat!

This book is wonderful -- but I am very confused. It would appear from searching for Mr. Cotter's books that there are two books, The Café Paradiso Cookbook -- Vegetarian Cooking Season-by-Season (named above) and Café Paradiso Seasons -- Vegetarian Cooking Season-by-Season (pictured above). The reason I think that there are two books is that I recall a reference in Café Paradiso Seasons to the Café Paradiso Cookbook ...
So I give 5 stars to the book pictured. The recipes are delicious and managable. The text and background to the recipes make from charming reading -- and, of course, the photos are lovely ...

I've eaten often at Cafe Paradiso in Cork. Everytime I go I find something more innovative and more delicious. Even if you're not a vegetarian, and I'm not, you won't miss the meat in these beautifully planned meals. I've got several of Denis's cookbooks; this is the first one I've gotten in the US and having the measurement conversions is GREAT. There's a terrific range from straight forward and simple, to eye-dazzling and complex. Dig in.

I love meat but really you don't miss the meat from these recipes, they are brilliant. Dennis Cotter uses a lot of squash and sweet potatoes, in my opinion overlooked in many cookery books.

The desserts are great too.

Cafe Paradiso is unquestionably one of the best restaurants in the whole of Ireland; it should be a priority on the itinerary of anyone planning a visit. Even diehard carnivores have loved this place: I've taken many of them there when they've visited me in Cork, and they always come away from the table singing its praises!

As a result, I can't recommend this cookbook enough for anyone interested in doing more with their veg than just a slab of butter and some garlic. This book is just a preview of what is by far a culinary trip through the best vegetable, fruit and dairy produce in all of the island. Of course, being that the restaurant is a Cork-based institution, some of the ingredients Denis specifies in the book (Gabriel cheese, for example) will only be available locally; however, there is always room for experimentation in the recipes and often times, Denis himself will do so, changing one or two ingredients of what we locals feel is a staple dish to try something new. Denis Cotter uses some interesting combinations (lemon and liquorice with basil, to name one) in his cooking, which is one of the main reasons that the restaurant has become the talk of the vegetarian world. The marriage of flavours found his recipes are so vivid and palatable that it's like eating a rainbow. Of course, the restaurant's wine list is a particular complement to the food! (All the more reason to book those tickets to Cork...)

Ann evokes memories of a child in an Irish family and days spent in Catholic school thinking nuns are smarter than mothers. Her younger brother Joey is sometimes cohort; sometimes torturer.
She's overweight, clumsy, holy and unholy. At age nine, she fails to develop a talent. So, prepares herself (with hilarious contrivance) to attain the Miss Congeniality title in the Miss America contest.
Her infirm Mother is often hospitalized, leaving her with kind adults who sometimes become unkind when no one's looking.
Unique to the book are Ann's brief accounts of what happened in later life following each very entertaining narrative.

This is a heart-warming book that every girl can relate to! One page your eyes will be all teary and the next you'll be giggling... once you pick this book up you'll not want to put it down as every page is a new tale, triumph, adventure or tribulation of youth!

Such a charming and funny book! Ms. Burnell perfectly captures the immigrant experience - a stranger in a strange land who finds out that the things and people in this country are not so strange after all. This book will resonate with everyone, whether or not you are Irish! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was almost sad to finish reading it. Pick it up for an easy and entertaining read.

A Child's Heart makes you laugh and it makes you cry, it is such a good read. I highly recommend it for all book lovers.

Funny and feisty Rosie captures the essence of an Irish-American childhood in mid-century Brooklyn with her hilarious yet heart-rending tales of family and friends, nuns and neighbors in the American melting pot.

Hi I'm Zoe Whilton, and Childhood Hills is an excellent book. Each poem is a masterpiece of its own. My favorite poems are, "The Lie", "The Elevator", and "Your First Day at Dolly's" (by Annemarie Mullan Whilton, aka my mother, I am the girl at preschool, my sister is the one crying). I hope that Pat Mullan continues to write poetry.

Reviewed by Diane Morgan - Editor, ... .

Pat Mullan takes us on a poetic journey through Ireland, the world and childhood. His evocative poetry creates for us lush landscapes, towering cities and weeping hearts that share the sorrow within all of us.

Relationships are key to his poetry, love, loss and remembering. I truly enjoyed his style of writing; it wasn't at all like the rhyming cliché poetry we are overburdened with as we read aspiring poets; it has a rhythm all its own; one could almost hear an Irish lilt to it.

He adds to the end of his book a section in memory of James Dickey that is poignant and stirring reminding us of the vast heritage we have of poets often forgotten.

Childhood Hills
by Pat Mullan

Reading this collection of poetry and writings was like holding a conversation with a very interesting person who can fascinate with a hypnotic flow of words. His muse is an old country bard who whispered secrets of the ancient days in the poet's ear. Pat Mullan has translated those secrets onto these pages.

You will be moved to joy and sorrow as you traverse the winding path over these Childhood Hills. Within these hills dwells a child who remembers the man he was, not a man dreaming over a lost youth. He still lives in the poetry contained here.

This author is a spirit freed from the fears of childhood that we all have shared, no matter what shape those fears take, what horrid dreams they inspire. If you allow him, this poet will guide you through imagery and images, familiar and strange, to a destination where understanding waits.

A poem is music of the soul that takes its inspiration from ordinary events, places, and people. It is a music you hear with your heart. I recommend you read Childhood Hills slowly and listen carefully. It will quicken the spirit that lives within.

I am the author of "THE FEELINGS AND IMAGINATION OF A BAREFOOT BOY STILL INSIDE MY HEAD!: Poems and Short Stories for Boys and Girls Ages 9 to 12," which will be available online soon! I bought Childhood Hills to read another author's poetry. In Pat's book, here are several of my favorites: THE QUARRY HOLE, WE NEVER TALKED, BICYCLE RIDE, SMALL VICTORY, GRANNY BUNTY'S BUTTON BOX, and MY CAT (this one is by Annemarie Mullan Whilton). As I read, Pat's poetry created a vivid picture in my mind. The poems about Pat's childhood were particularly moving. Great Book Pat!

It's an amazing way of painting a picture from a really interesting life and Childhood of this irish author. For me it was sometimes intellectuall demanding and sometimes easy to follow. My Favourites are: 'The turning point' and 'Granny Bunty's Button Box'

The other reviewers who also gave it 5 stars said it the best. I'm just adding my emphasis that you should read this book. It was inspiring and just a very memorable and eye-opening story of native people growing up in the "white man's" world. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

A proud but impoverished Alaskan Indian family struggling to move into modern white society from its ancient culture filled with spirits -- deeply moving, humorous, tragic, yet inspirational.

I absorbed Cold River Spirits in a flurry of intense reading. Once the book was opened, I could not put it down. The stories were compelling and engaging, full of warmth, amusement, charm, sorrow, and tragedy. I was drawn into the lives of this Alaska Native family and rejoiced in their triumphs and commiserated in their troubles. The icon of the family, Louise, embodied the power, strength and wisdom of the Alaska Native woman. Louise's thoroughly modern daughter, Flora Jane, determined, bright, and plucky, became the first Alaska Native, man or woman, to graduate from the University of Alaska! These real life stories reflect the difficulties and challenges of the Alaska Native people as it has in more recent times interfaced with the pervasive and dominant white culture. But Cold River Spirits is not just an ethnological family history; it has much broader appeal, for it crosses cultural and racial lines, and the reader senses the deeper message of the themes of humanity that unify us all.

An informative and important ethnographic work giving a glimpse of one family's life experiences in interior Alaska. A story well crafted and researched by one of the descendants of an Athabascan/Irish family filled with the realities of the sometimes harsh aspects of life in the north but yet also filled with the joys of living with strands of hope. It demonstrates how people cope with the clashing of cultures and how people on another level recreate their identity with one foot in the past (belief in Cold River Spirits) and one in the present. This book is highly recommended as a prime example of how to do ethnography. At times an air of expectancy is created and much like Louise, a central character in the family story, we get a sense of what's to come. It was story told with candor and helps to give us a snapshot of the cultural landscape of her people.

COLD RIVER SPIRITS is a wonderful and welcome addition to my library. Jan Harper-Haines writes with wisdom and humor. She tells the story of her family with candor, helping readers appreciate the challenge of living in two cultures. The book is a fast read; I couldn't put it down. As a result, I gave several copies as holiday gifts to friends and family. COLD RIVER SPIRITS deserves five stars.

"Hal: Bury her naked? My own mum? Its a Fruedian nightmare!"...or something like that. Too bad his own death was an act of violence too

This collection of (the late) Joe Orton's plays is amazing. Not for those who are easily offended or whose feelings are hurt. Orton, who was described as a "poor Oscar Wilde," lived up to the name. His plays are fast paced assults on everything that the British hold dear. There is no respect for religion, custom, death or social norms.

Satirical and full of quick wit, Orton's plays attack British culture and spit on everything that the "respectable person," would hold dear.

Orton does not hold back anything and could come on a bit strong for a conservative reader, but my suggestion is that any lover of drama and theater should own and read these plays.

Beaten to death by his male lover in 1967, Joe Orton has been rediscovered as an intriguing look into the mind and soul of a man who lived ahead of his times. His plays are fascinating and have so many layers that you can enjoy them repeatedly. He also wrote a screenplay for the Beatles, which was never filmed (according to the dustjacket). Now wouldn't that be interesting!

Although he is considered among England's greatest playwrights, today Joe Orton (1933-1967) is better known for the way in which he died--his head beaten in with a hammer by his long-time lover Kenneth Halliwell--than for his works. It is a bitter and ridiculous irony that might have been lifted from one of his own plays. It is also a great pity, for Orton was a comic genius whose plays equal the best of English with from Congreve to Wilde to Coward. And if you like your comedy with an ample edge of mean-spiritedness, brutality, cruelty, and flat-out viciousness, Orton is the man for you.

THE COMPLETE PLAYS is not as complete as the title implies, for the text leaves out several titles that never received any production during Orton's lifetime. Still, it does collect the major titles, and that in itself is enough to earn it a place on any serious play-reader's shelf.

Originally presented as a BBC radio program, THE RUFFIAN ON THE STAIR presents the story of Joyce, an unmarried woman of dubious background who is now under the control of Mike, an older man who has mysterious assignations that lead to a fateful encounter with a boy hairdresser named Wilson--whose lover (or brother, depending on how you think about it) may have been a victim of one of Mike's covert operations. It got Orton noticed, and his next effort would truly put him on the map: ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE was and is one of the salaciously funny comedies ever brought to the stage, the wickedly funny tale of an aging sex-crazed woman and her homosexual brother who use their father's murder as a means of blackmailing a young thug into their respective beds.

THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, THE ERPINGHAM CAMP, and FUNERAL GAMES have much to offer but are actually minor titles in comparison with the two plays that critics consider great masterpieces: LOOT, a bitterly savage farce concerning a robbery, a death in the family, and the uses to which you can put Mother's coffin (not to mention false teeth) in a pinch; and WHAT THE BUTLER SAW, set in a psychiatrist's office in which everyone has truly gone round the bend.

Orton was a master of language that forces you to laugh even as it cuts you like a straight-edged razor across the throat; you can't help but laugh even as you collapse bleeding to the floor. Even so, it is worth pointing out that plays are really written to be performed rather than read, and this particularly true of Orton; unless you have a very strong background in theatre you may do better to wait for your local rep company to take up the challenge.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Tragic, brutal things happen to the characters in these plays. But none of these people is particularly likeable, so you can't really care. It's all just as well for them, in some ways, and it's all in good fun. The characters manipulate each other, lie to each other, steal from each other, screw each other, kill each other, and deny that they do it. Everyone here has the ethics of a doorknob, and it's all pretty enjoyable.

The last one, "What The Butler Saw", got a little bit too ridiculously farcical for my taste and went on too long, but it has its moments; and otherwise they're all pretty good to read.

I can also recommend the introduction. Joe Orton lived his own life very much like the people in his plays (which makes you wonder how much of his material was supposed to be comedy). Even his death was true to form: his envious lover, actor Kenneth Halliwell, bashed in Orton's brains with a hammer just prior to doing himself in with 22 sleeping tablets.

...The gist of it was this: Crow is one of the best books of poetry published in the last 50 years...

As an English major in 1973, one of my professors recommended this book of poetry. None of our textbooks contained any of Ted Hughes' work but I jotted his name and this title in the margin of one of my books. After graduating, I spent very little time reading or thinking about poetry. But I recently revived my interest in poetry, specifically after reading several biographies of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. I pulled out my old poetry textbooks, found this note and immediately ordered Crow to read it for myself.
What an experience. The work is fantastic - the images, the rhythm, the concept. Amazing, entertaining, and relevant.
I highly recommend this book.

A brilliant work! Honest, straightforward, raw and hardcore poems
that will knock your socks off. This is the only work I recommend reading by Hughes.

I first read this in the late 70's. The harshness, the brutality of it all was a punch in the stomach. An overturning of how i imagined poetry to be. Poetry because of this could belong to me too. It was a similar sensation to the crashing, nihilistic verve of early punk records. It will always remind me that poetry can be as powerful as a 3 minute, 3 chord record, and just as accessible. It did not have any of the cultural baggage of TS Eliot's Wasteland,for example, Which to a provincial boy stuck in a Comprehensive School, belonged to a diferent, musty world .

"Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow" is a collection of poems by Ted Hughes. The copyright page notes that the book was first published in 1972. This is a remarkable book that often reads like some apocryphal sacred text. The book is dominated by its title character, who is the focus of a significant number of the poems. Crow is a multifaceted character with mythic heft: he is a warrior, theologian, trickster, and partner with God in creation. He is both heroic and ridiculous, foolish and wise. He's a compelling and delightful character who ultimately transcends all cultures and historical eras.

The collection as a whole is whimsical, witty, apocalyptic, bold, revelatory, irreverent, visceral, horrific, and playful. At times, Hughes' poetic marriage of the earthy and the mystical reminded me of Walt Whitman. The book also calls to mind traditional Native American animal stories.

Many of the poems in "Crow" touch on the magic and power of words. The natural world is another key recurring motif. Hughes delivers some striking images and some interesting arrangements of words on the page--many poems really engage the eye. Many poems read like religious litanies. Overall, an impressive and enjoyable poetic achievement.

One of the most famous - and infamous - letters in all of literature, De Profundis is a strange little piece of work: either much more than it appears on the surface, or much less. It is something I think everyone should read, if only for its insight into the human character, particularly that of one under great personal suffering. Wilde wrote this extraordinarily long letter from prison to Lord Alfred Douglas, his friend, lover, and the man who - by all accounts - was the reason Wilde was in jail in the first place. Despite repeated assertions in the first few pages alone to the contrary, Wilde seems reluctant to blame himself. He clearly blames Douglas to the hilt, and harbors a certain bitter resentment towards him. And yet... he clearly still hold much dear affection toward - and even loves - Douglas. He still seems to be asking for forgiveness - despite the fact that, by all accounts hardly excluding his own, he was the man wronged. It is quite clear from reading this letter that, desite the view history holds of him, Wilde was clearly a man of very high moral character. Certainly, one would not put Wilde atop a pedastal as the zenith of ethics - he himself says that morals contain "absolutely nothing" for him, and clearly admits - and is proud of - his having lived the high life to the hilt during his youth - but Wilde was a man of principles, and he stuck to those principles to the tragic, bitter end. Perhaps you might say he carried them too far. One gets the sense in reading this letter - or a biography of Wilde - that, not only could he have stopped his immiment imprisonment, but could have severed his ties with Douglas completely - had he wanted to. Apparently, he had his own utterly compelling reasons for not doing so. Whatever the case, Oscar Wilde is one of the most fundamentally and perpetually interesting characters in the whole of history. A self-described man of paradoxes - Wilde was subsequently the true essence of his time, while also being far ahead of his time - De Profundis makes for required reading by one of the most endlessly fascinating individuals you'll ever read about, and also provides a startling - indeed, perhaps too much so - insight into human nature.

De Profundis, though long for a letter, is not a long work in the conventional sense. Consequently, as many editions of Wilde's collected works are available, buying this on its own may be deemed questionable. I highly reccommend purchasing a Collected Works of Oscar if you have not done so already - it's well worth the price - but, should you desire to have more compact editions of specific works, an edition such as this will be privy to your needs.

This is a very moving account of a heartbroken man who was betrayed by a person he loved dearly. The pain, the trauma, the love, the anger, the frustration is evident in every single well-written sentence. This book is not only a window into the mind of one of the best British writers of the late 19th century. It is also a timeless lesson on what can happen when one falls in love with someone who doesn't truly appreciate what they have before them. Of course there are other lessons to be learned in this book but rather than point them out here, I'd much prefer you pick up a copy of "De Profundis" as soon as you can.

Not actually a "letter," though it had to be originally presented as such for him to be allowed to write it while in prison, *De Profundis* is Wilde's masterpiece--one has to have really lived and really, really suffered to have written it and it's amazing that he achieved it.

I only very recently read it--and "got" it. It rings true to me, and is very, very moving and "profound." It ain't summer beach reading.

Wilde is still and will probably always be best known as a "Personality"--that and the author of a couple of decent period plays, a short novel, a few stories, and lots of forgettable poems and such. But THIS--THIS is IT.

He really WAS a great writer, it turns out, after all.

So many people concentrate on De Profundis' accusations cast towards Alfred Douglas. Yes, it's true that the letter was written to him and that Wilde is ruthless in letting Douglas know exactly what he thinks of him but that's not why De Profundis is a great piece of work. It is great for three reasons. Number one - It contains the best account of the life of Christ. Christ as the romantic artist is the only account that has moved me to tears and the only account I can personally embrace. Number two - it is chock full of the Oscar Wilde voice and wit and as a result it reverbates as a true work of art and number three - It is ultimately a work that celebrates the things in life worth feeling - failure, love, injustice, strength and forgiveness.

Don't waste your time with the accusations towards Douglas. He is unimportant. Oscar Wilde is what's important and De Profundis is Oscar Wilde bare.

Ah, me...one doesn't know which to be more irritated
and exasperated with: whether it be Walt Whitman doing
his dissembling shuck-and-shuffle about the children
he had sired (to throw off a probing, serious John
Addington Symonds) -- or Oscar, in this "j'accuse," which
he should have spoken while looking in a mirror, rather
than writing it on paper to Lord Alfred.
This is without doubt a fascinating, horrifying,
and yet in places humorous, "piece de Miserere mei"
(to combine a bit of French with Latin).
If one chooses to believe Oscar, his only fault
was weakness in "giving in" to Lord Alfred. Oh,
come now. Blinded by Eros, reason flies out the
door...if ever reason was in control. There are
some sentences which are devastatingly revealing,
but Oscar doesn't seem to see it. "The trivial in
thought and action is charming. I had made it
the keystone of a very brilliant philosophy expressed
in plays and paradoxes." Ye gods, and little fishes!

And this man dared to call himself a "Classicist?!"
Yikes!!!
The best exercise for the reader is to just take
many of the things which Oscar accuses Lord Alfred
of, and turn them toward the self-blind, self-
justifying Oscar, to see their devastating hitting
of the mark. Never having met the young man, but
only having the "benefit" of hearsay (mostly from
Oscar's literary defenders) Lord Alfred seems to have
been calculating, temperamental (using anger to get
his way), manipulative, etc., etc., etc. The best
description of him may be Wilde's referring to him
with the lines from Aeschylus' play AGAMEMNON,
about the lion cub being raised in a house and
being let loose to wreak havoc and ruin.
But Oscar bears his share of blame -- more than just
that of the "sin" of weakness which he constantly falls
back upon in his own justification. Even in the midst
of what purports to be some sort of penitent cry from
the depths of hell...Oscar still is ever the poseur:
"And I remember that afternoon, as I was in the railway
carriage whirling up to Paris, thinking what an impossible,
terrible, utterly wrong state my life had got into, when
I, a man of world-wide reputation, was actually forced
to run away from England, in order to try and get rid
of a friendship that was entirely destructive of everything
fine in me either from the intellectual or ethical point
of view...." Er, when was the last time that the
"everything fine" had last seen the light of day?
Was Oscar an "Artist," as he consistently claims?
Was he the wronged, harmed Artist? Perhaps only the
reader can decide that for himself. Without doubt
he was witty, acerbic, funny, cute, clever, perhaps
even charming (to some -- sort of like a Pillsbury
Dough Boy with flair and a clever tongue), perhaps
stylish (in a frumpy, velveteen sort of way). Was
he wronged by a predatory clinger and manipulator,
and a hypocritical social prudery and class power
play (Oscar is no Socrates--that's for sure!)? He
hardly seems worthy, in some ways, of being a poster-boy
for Gay Pride parades. More likely, he is a better
warning poster boy for the self-excusing, and never
take-responsibility-for-your-own-actions crowd.
But this is an incredible piece to read and think
about. There is some of it that is mordantly hilarious.

This book is a cherished gift from a friend back in 1973. The ink drawings are very clever and enjoyed by kids of all ages--even the adult kind. Our daughters were all raised with this book and they loved it. I expect that the Slithergadee may have something to do with the eldest becoming an attorney!

This book was one of my favorites when I was a child. I can still recite many of poems from memory 30 years later. I can't wait to read it to my children.

I came across this book when I was in graduate school--living with two commercial artists and studying for my master's in library science. We were in a book store one evening when the woman I lived with started pointing out the cleverness of the illustrations and how well they matched the poetic selections. After all these years I remember my favorite--a little racoon standing in the snow very soberly reciting "I do not like thee Doctor Fell, The reason why I cannot tell..." He is speaking to an old country doctor who is walking through the snow wearing a coonskin hat, carrying his bag, looking soooo tired--and here is this animal lecturing him--the scene is both serious and silly---and they are all like that--there is a depth, an intelligence, that brings the reader back again and again. I read my copy over and over. It was in the children's section, but the humor in the illustrations is definitely aimed at adult appreciation.

There is no way for me to convey the top notch quality of Mr. Tripp's humor and art work in the sketched scenes that decorate both front and back covers and also accompany each verse in this volume. While each of the nonsense verses are wonderful in their own right, the accompanying drawings (with the comments created by Mr. Tripp for the little animal characters he has sketched for each scene) are absolutely delightful!

I received this book as a gift from my husband many years ago and I have worn it to a frazzle enjoying it over and over; it is my healthy tension-reducer and stress manager. Although it is presented as a child's book, I am convinced it was sketched for grownups. I am at a loss for words to tell what an indescribably delicious treat you will find in this book no matter what your age!

My wife bought our family copy when it first came out in 1973. She was at a conference in Boston and saw it go on display. Our daughter, born 1971, was raised on it and both my wife and I can quote passages at the drop of a word. Favorites are "The Slithergadee" and "The common cormorant or shag...." Our daughter is now expecting her first child (our first grandchild) and we presented her with our copy. We have recently purchased a paperback copy to read when the child is at our home. Our daughter's sister-in-law read our original copy and is now looking for a copy to read to her son. It is great for teaching children reading and an understanding of art and life. (Yes, I have several Wallace Tripp illustrations.)

Larry Kirwan, the driving force behind Black 47, is a rarity in the world of rock and roll. His talent is just as apparent on the page as it is in song. GREEN SUEDE SHOES is a collection of stories about his life, from his youth with his grandfather, a sculptor of monuments in County Wexford to the wild days in NYC as a struggling rocker. Each section is introduced with the lyrics of one of his songs; songs that offer a slightly distorted reflection of what really happened. A classic example of this method is "Funky Ceili" where the song tells of a young man forced to leave Ireland because of the very unhappy father of his pregnant girlfriend and the real story is more of two people in love but both afraid to give up what they really want for the other. This story and others show the relationship of life with art in Kirwan's music and gives the reader insight into the creative process. Kirwan tells the stories of his youth with humor, passion, and poetry with each piece crafted lovingly; his ability to pull you into his stories is incredible. You get the feeling he's sitting in the room with you "spinning his yarns" as you sit with rapt attention. The book does bog down a bit when Kirwan's career does and this time period becomes a bit of a chore to read through, but the overall pleasure of reading about this intriguing life more than make up for the few less exciting entries. It's the rare occasion when a musician's written work can match his musical ability; Kirwan's GREEN SUEDE SHOES is a fine example of when it does.

Green Suede Shoes is much more than the stories behind the songs that start each chapter of this book, whose author is the driving force behind the Irish rock band Black 47. The subtitle is "An Irish-American Odyssey," which is a tip-off to the true nature of this book. Kirwan takes you from his upbringing in Wexford to his insane early days trying to make it in New York, to the rise of Black 47 and beyond. Refreshingly suspicious of fame and celebrityhood, Kirwan is indeed a true artist---however presumptuous he or his old friends back in Ireland might regard the claim---who is passionately motivated by his music and by his uncompromising commitment to tell political and moral truth in his songs. But don't read this book---just as you wouldn't listen to Black 47---because of Kirwan's idealism, politics, or good intentions. Read it because it's a great story, told with formidable narrative momentum and artistry, filled with humor and emotion and all kinds of behind-the-scenes craziness.

This is a delightful book! Larry Kirwan has a wonderful way with the English language. I swear he could write the ingredients in a box of cereal and make it a joy to read. He has a real knack for sharing experiences with a sense of humor and a lack of pretentiousness. I'm buying a second copy to give as a gift- I won't be parting with MY copy (I got it autographed). This book is a great read & and a refreshing, insightful look at modern America and the New York music scene.

The book as a biography, has a solid enough premise and just the right amount of appealing grit to the cover, that I would have picked it up off the book shelves even if I'd never heard of the band, Black47.
It's reads easy and pleasant,like a letter from an old friend letting you know what they've been up to. Smart but not "over your head" intellectual, poignant yet witty.
Mr. Kirwan's writting style I liken to Eric Burdon's in his book,
"I used to be an Animal but I'm all right now".
That book has been on my shelf for years, it's all dog eared and the pages are held to the binding by scotch tape and rubber bands.I can easily see Green Suede Shoes right beside it in years to come.
The CD Elvis Murphy's Green Suede Shoes is good but not necessary to enjoy the book,
so well written, it speaks for itself.

I can only speak from the perspective of a fan of Black 47 who saw them a bit in their early years at Paddy's and someone who has most of their music. Green Suede Shoes is an extremely entertaining memoir by Larry Kirwan, the lead singer and driving force behind the band. The book covers his early years as a rocker/rebel/socialist/republican finding himself as a young man Ireland, to his journey to New York where he becomes a musician and playright, and then to the founding of Black 47, the capstone of his musical career. In between there are stories of loves lost, and lots more of alcohol consumed, and lots of colorful characters along the way, including some well known characters in the annals of music and New York City. Kirwan is the real deal: he and his bandmates are committed to their music and their fans, and that bond has made them "New York's House Band" for fifteen years; they respond to requests shouted out, to e-mails sent, and mingle with the crowd after the show. That passion comes across in the book. The story also involves his relationship with his parents and touches on the universal immigrant experience of never being able to go home again.

Certainly for any fan of Black 47, or even someone who is just familiar with their music but shares the New York Irish American experience, this is a great read; it rekindles interest in their music, but speaks to an era through the eyes and experiences of one of New York's all time great artists.