Irish Myth

Dec 19 2009

The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-ween by Ruth Sawyer

Another great book I came across at the library with my kids was The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-ween. As I love folklore and Christmas this was a perfect story for me.  Here is Publishers Weekly:

Readers will want to pull up a creepie (stool) and gather ’round a roaring peat fire to hear every lilting word of Sawyer’s magical and haunting Irish folktale, first published in 1941. Orphan girl Oona, abandoned by her tinker kin, grows into a lonely, ostracized old woman longing for a home of her own. On Christmas Eve, as the legend goes, the wee people to whom Oona has always been kind oblige her in a special way. Gauzy, evocative mixed-media paintings convey a quiet yet powerful energy.

We didn’t have a peat fire but we did gather on the couch and read this charming story. It has that classic Irish blend of melancholy, magic, tragedy and hope. And as noted by PW, the illustrations add to the evocative story.

So if your family loves to read stories out loud together this would be a great choice this holiday season. Of course , you and your older readers could read it too (I read it again after the family reading).

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Jan 30 2009

The Last of the High Kings by Kate Thompson

When last we saw J.J. Liddy he was trying to put his memory back together after a trip to T’ir na n’Og.  He has saved the Land of Eternal Youth by finding the leak that allowed time to trickle into that magical world from our more mundane one.  This leak was stealing time from earth and causing T’ir na n’Og to age rather than remain timeless.

In The Last of the High Kings Kate Thompson picks up the story 15 years later.  And things haven’t gotten any easier for J.J.  As a husband and father he just has a new set of problems:

Why does his daughter Jenny roam barefoot through the wilds, when she should be in school? When did the mysterious white goat begin to patrol the hillside? What is the secret project that J.J.’s son Donal is attempting? And who is the ghost guarding the stone beacon at the top of the mountain—and why has Jenny befriended him?

This sequel to The New Policeman continues Thompson’s creative blending of Irish myth and fairy tale with contemporary Irish life.  And she continues to bring a nice blend of wit and suspense to the story while adding in some great new characters.  Jenny in particular is an interesting, but in many ways elusive, character; the Puka continues to bring a blend of magic and menace; and there are lots of interesting dynamics that result from being part of a large – and unique – family.

But I found this book not quite as engaging as the first and at times a little too preachy. Keep Reading

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , ,