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Kate Macdonald

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Tag: Ireland

Rónán Hession, Leonard and Hungry Paul

Thirty-four pages into this excellent Irish novel, I was cackling with laughter for the third time. I was also being paused in my happy reading by moments of piercing empathy. They sat alongside the bursts of humour, deepening the reader’s feelings about the characters and their patient, ordinary lives. The cover shows us a sunfish, … Continue reading Rónán Hession, Leonard and Hungry Paul →

Kate 21stC, bildungsroman, community life, family saga, humour, political / social commentary, publishing, Rónán Hession, the life of the times 9 Comments July 4, 2020

My gifts to the Oxfam bookshop

The Mere Wife, by Maria Dahvana Headley I didn’t finish this. I got to the bit where the character in the Hrothgar role got killed, and the character in the Beowulf role is in a car with the character in the Wealtheow role, considering kissing her. I did not want to read on because the … Continue reading My gifts to the Oxfam bookshop →

Kate 21stC, biography, essays, fantasy, Helen Cullen, Lauren Elkin, letters, Maria Dahvana Headley, memoirs / diaries, Molly Keane, political / social commentary, Sally Phipps, the Beowulf poet, the life of the times, the world of work, travelogue 3 Comments January 9, 2019

Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling

Shall I count the ways in which I love this novel? It's a joy to read, easy and deep and delightful. It made me cry. I bought it on holiday and I loved it. It's snort-out-loud funny. It's utterly fascinating if you're not 28 and not from Ireland, like discovering a world of linguistic delights. … Continue reading Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling →

Kate 21stC, bildungsroman, community life, drinking, Emer McLysaght, family saga, feminism, humour, nature, parody, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, Sarah Breen, sociology, the life of the times, the world of work 2 Comments September 17, 2018September 16, 2018

Now posting on Vulpes Libris: Frank O’Connor’s autobiographies

I posted a double review of Frank O'Connor's autobiographies over on Vulpes Libris: An Only Child, and My Father's Son. I learned a lot about Irish history, Irish literature, Irish convents and army pensions.

Kate 20thC, autobiography, community life, drinking, family saga, Frank O'Connor, history, literary history, memoirs / diaries, now posting on Vulpes Libris, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, the life of the times, theatreland, wartime Leave a comment May 29, 2017August 15, 2017

Ayisha Malik, The Other Half of Happiness

The continuing adventures of Sofia Khan have been much anticipated. I adored Malik’s first novel, Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, and its sequel begins very satisfyingly with the immortal words of ‘Reader, I married him’. This is of course the burning question at the end of Sofia Khan when she’s flying off to Karachi with … Continue reading Ayisha Malik, The Other Half of Happiness →

Kate 21stC, Ayisha Malik, community life, family saga, humour, letters, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, publishing, the life of the times, the world of work Leave a comment March 9, 2017August 17, 2017

Now posting on Vulpes Libris: Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn

Over on Vulpes Libris I've posted a review of Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn. I really liked it, but I wasn't quite convinced by how he covered the intimately feminine aspects of Éilis's experiences. Tóibín is very good on sea-bathing sex and shaving for bathing-suits, but he says nothing about menstrual blood or the fretting about white skirts that was … Continue reading Now posting on Vulpes Libris: Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn →

Kate 21stC, bildungsroman, Colm Tóibín, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, fashion history, historical romance, now posting on Vulpes Libris, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, the life of the times, the world of work Leave a comment May 4, 2016
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this is what I write about

1920s 1930s 1950s 1960s aliens Angela Thirkell archaeology architecture art Barbara Pym biography birds Cambridge detection Dornford Yates Dorothy Richardson drinking family life fantasy farming fashion fast cars feminism First World War France gender Germany Harry Potter H G Wells history Ireland John Buchan John Lehmann journalism King Arthur literary history London magic memoir middlebrow murder music Naomi Mitchison newspapers New York Paris Penguin New Writing poetry politics post-war poverty publishing Rivers of London romance satire science science fiction Scotland Second World War servants small-town America space opera Sylvia Townsend Warner Terry Pratchett translation travel village life Vulpes Libris Wales wartime witchcraft witches women women's history women's lives

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