Pick up some books with your pint
Happy St. Patrick's Day, Read Streeters!
I hope you're all wearing your green today, and maybe you even plan to enjoy a bit of corned beef and cabbage (I've never been able to, not for want of my grandmother trying) or, dare I say it, green beer? And might I suggest some readings with those holiday classics?
Here are a few Irish authors I've enjoyed over the years:
Samuel Beckett: This Nobel Prize-winning playwright and poet may not be the happiest guy to spend the day with, but he sure packs a punch. Waiting for Godot may be a quick read, but it will have you analyzing the meaning of life for weeks to come: Is it about politics, war, religion, the author's own life? Those Irish are deep, man.
Maeve Binchy: A little on the lighter side, Binchy is probably best known for the film adaptation of her novel Circle of Friends. She's written more than a dozen novels, as well as an award-winning play. Her novels tend to focus on the lives of Irish women, but usually have a bit more emotional heft than your average chick lit. Also, my grandmother was a huge fan, and she was never wrong.
James Joyce: If you think I'm going to suggest you read Ulysses, you've got another think coming. I've never read it. Dave assures me that no one has, but I still feel a touch of guilt every time I see it. However, his collection of short stories, Dubliners, is very fine -- not very cheery, but that's what your drinking companions are for, right?
Frank McCourt: Technically an Irish-American, McCourt's first memoir, Angela's Ashes -- for which he won a Pulitzer -- was a success in every sense of the word. And while I couldn't work my way through 'Tis, and haven't even picked up Teacher Man, I can whole-heartedly endorse Ashes.
George Bernard Shaw: The man won both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar, and this guy on the Internet will explain to you why Al Gore is no Shaw. If you think you know Pygmalion based on the classic movie My Fair Lady, you are wrong. And the ending will shock you. And it's totally worth it; go get it now.
Bram Stoker: One word: Dracula.
Jonathan Swift: Who doesn't think of a man tied to the ground by hundreds of tiny men as soon as they hear the title Gulliver's Travels? The satire was supposed to poke at human pride, but with imagery like that, my younger self was just amazed at this guy's imagination.
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde: Yeah, how about THAT for a name? Wilde is one of my favorite authors, but if I had to pick a couple that you should definitely check out, they'd be The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is lyrical and spooky, and there's a reason the character keeps returning to screen and page.
I'm sure I've missed some greats, including Yeats, whom I've never read, and now feel I must. Maybe that'll be part of my St. Patrick's Day celebration.
As Wilde would say, enjoy your alcoholiday, be safe and I do hope tomorrow morning is kind to you.
Comments
You've listed some greats, Nancy! Personally, I would include Flann O'Brien/Myles na gCopaleen/Brian O'Nolan, JP Donleavy (technically Irish-American, as he was born in NYC to Irish immigrant parents, though he's lived in Ireland for the last 40 or 50 years) and Laurence Sterne. They've all got that shanachie gene.
Posted by: WP Tandy | March 17, 2009 10:39 AM
Brendan Behan, preferably "Borstal Boy."
Posted by: Brian | March 17, 2009 12:25 PM
Ahem. I have read Ulysses---and Finnegans Wake to boot. And I'm quite sure I'm not the only person who has read them both.
Posted by: Dahlink | March 17, 2009 2:54 PM
Dahlink, you're a better reader than I am.
Posted by: Nancy | March 17, 2009 3:20 PM
For a light read, try The Tea House on Mulberry Street by Sharon Owens. I really enjoyed it. It was a bestseller in Ireland.
Posted by: Gail Farrelly | March 17, 2009 4:09 PM
You left out A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, which the BBC rated as one of 100 must-reads. Even the protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly, is Irish.
(I happen to know that it is one of the few on the BBC list you have not read. I guarantee you will love it or I will buy you a Chipotle burrito.)
Posted by: Dave | March 18, 2009 11:56 AM