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Ireland  By  cover art

Ireland

By: Frank Delaney
Narrated by: Frank Delaney
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Publisher's summary

One evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller arrives unannounced at a house in the Irish countryside. In exchange for a bed and a warm meal, he invites his hosts and their neighbors to join him by the wintry fireside and begins to tell formative stories of Ireland's history. Ronan, a nine-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the storytelling that, when the old man leaves abruptly under mysterious circumstances, the boy devotes himself to finding him again.

Ronan's search for the Storyteller becomes both a journey of self-discovery, long unspoken family secrets, and an immersion into the sometimes conflicting histories of his native land.

A sweeping novel of huge ambition, Ireland is the beautifully told story of a remarkable nation. It rings with the truth of a writer passionate about his country and in full command of his craft.

©2005 Frank Delaney (P)2005 HarperAudio

Critic reviews

"A sprawling, riveting read....Rich and satisfying." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Ireland

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Fascinating Read - Fiction combined with History

This was a great read - although it probably helps to have interest in Irish culture and heritage. The stories interwoven with the main story are fascinating, colorful, and exemplify a true lost art of the past, that of the oral telling of history. The main story line of the fascinated boy, and on what becomes his life-long quest to find the mysterious story-teller, integrate all the other stories seamlessly and make you appreciated this book as a book of short stories within a long story.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Too much of a fairy tale

This book sounded too much like a fairy tale. I was very much looking towards 20 hrs. of great audio to entertain me on the road but the pace of the book was so slow that I quit after investing over 10 hrs. hoping it'll get better.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

All the other reviews make this book sound entrancing, but, in fact, it is boring. It loosely strings together stories, not in any particular order or of any particular interest from Irish history or folklore. The uniting principle is contrived (a young man looks for a story teller). Although the book is well written and well read, the material is tiresome.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Transported to Ireland

My wife and I have been to Ireland twice. I loved this book because the writer narrated his own stories. I found Frank Delaney really captured the many places I'd seen in Ireland. Listening to these stories was just like being there. I look forward to listening to another one of Frank Delaney's books.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Too Dull To Finish

I enjoy literature, but this one was just to boring for me to finish.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Telling Stories

The author uses the device of a frame story to give us a wide range of tales in varying styles covering centuries of Irish history and legend. The frame story is absorbing. if not quite believable. I can chalk up some of the anachronisms - potatoes in the Bronze Age, Mexican pigments in the Book of Kells - to the fanciful nature of the storyteller figure. My only serious reservation about the book is that the boy whose actions dominate the narrative is not a very likable character.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding written work and narration!!!

I greatly enjoyed the interweaving of historical tales of Ireland with a young boy's pursuit of his passion. Some other reviews speak of this book as being slow, and I suppose it is to a degree. It wasn't meant to be an adrenaline rush from cover to cover. I would, however, highly recommend this to anyone who likes to feel the magic of a master storyteller fill your mind and soul.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Ireland

While recently driving on a long road trip I listened to this book. I generally enjoy listening to longer durration historical books and was really looking forward to the drive, therefore I did not take another book along. The narration was fine and the history was interesting, but the story line was like injecting medicine through a large gage needle, slow and painfully. I would have rather heard the narrator read a history text. On the return jouney I downloaded another book; thinking of finishing that last five hours was just too painful.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Bit Tedious, But Well Worth It

This is a delightful book that works far better in audio than it could ever work by reading a hard copy. After all, it is about story-telling, and the story-telling in the audio version is fabulous! The reader, with his authentic Irish accent, casts a magical spell through his intriguing tales that enliven the history, myths and national character of Ireland.

The book, however, is over-long. It could be 15% to 20% shorter with no adverse impact. A tour-de-force that is a bit tedious, but still worth the effort.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

tiresome

the premise of this novel was very promising, and even the first few chapters were engaging. the main character (the boy)never proved to be that interesting, though, and the one that is the most interesting (the storyteller), we don't hear enough of. Interest gave way to tedium. By the end, i was hoping for the end.

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2 people found this helpful