For those with a terrible thirst for foamy Hibernian whimsy.
A jolly journalist takes a junket from Down Under to the Emerald Isle in order to acquire a taste for the beverage he describes as “liquid coal.”
Despite this poor first impression, Australian McHugh quickly became proficient in drinking Guinness as he backpacked around Ireland with his girlfriend “Twidkiwodm” (short for “the-woman-I-didn’t-know-I-would-one-day-marry,” whose real name is Michelle). From Dublin, they toured the costal towns of Kilarney, Dingle, Tralee and Tarbet. Then northward they marched to Donegal and Dungloe, progressing from the initial dreadful pint to regular, happy imbibing with many colorful denizens of all the best pubs. Innocent fun was had as the couple wandered through Gaelic tourist traps and cozy hostels, paying due obeisance to St. Patrick, Yeats and a local dolphin. Under the careful observation of Twidkiwodm, McHugh also admired the local girls. By bus, bike, foot and outstretched thumb they went, making the rounds with fellow foreign trekkers and local Pats and Sheilas. The gregarious and rowdy natives, as transcribed here, all spoke in a thick vaudeville brogue, reverting to English for a line or two only on rare occasions. Gargling the black stuff while mucking around Ireland is not a new subject (see Peter Biddlecombe’s Ireland: In a Glass of Its Own, 2006), but this book is heady and goes down smoothly.
For those with a terrible thirst for foamy Hibernian whimsy.Pub Date: March 6, 2007
ISBN: 0-312-36366-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2007
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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