The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Give the gift of a book this Christmas...
FEW gifts leave a lasting impression long after the festivities have finished like a book can. Giving the gift of a book, or book voucher, is to open up multiple perceptions, views and emotions for people. Winter is a great time for reading and Christmas is when books are cherished that little bit more. Here’s a few titles of interest for the book lover in your life.
The official biography of Seamus Darby ‘About that Goal’ is a must read for GAA fans. Painful as it may be remembering Kerry’s 5-in-a-row heartache, the book offers a detailed insight into Darby, the person, and reverses many of the misconceptions we thought were true of him. Darby’s respect and love for Kerry football also comes through in the book.
David Park’s ‘Travelling in a Strange Land’ won the 2019 Kerry Group Book of the Year at Listowel Writers’ Week, and for good reason. Park’s narrative is deep and introspective and holds the reader’s attention as its main character reflects on fatherhood during a winter journey from Belfast to Sunderland.
Colm Tóibin’s ‘Mad, Bad, Dangerous to know: the fathers of Wilde, Yeats and Joyce’ is a wonderfully researched book that delves behind the lives of the men who were the earliest influences on some of our greatest writers. Tóibin probes in a way that, even though the book is an historical account, recreates their lives in novel format.
Steph Booth’s ‘Married to Alzheimer’s: A Life Less Ordinary with Tony Booth’ is a personal memoir of Steph’s years living and caring for Tony Booth during his Alzheimers. The book is an honest and touching account of that time in their lives and is interspersed with moments of happiness and sadness.
Lastly, few writers/journalists possess the ability to create a factual account of an event while simultaneously adding their own personal experiences and humour like Billy Keane can. Billy can make the most sorrowful of occasions seem funny and the funniest an occasion on which to reflect. His latest book, ‘The Very Best of Billy Keane: A New Collection of the Author’s Weekly Columns’ includes articles ranging from sport to current affairs. Billy’s weekly articles for the Irish Independent are built on humour, sentiment and solemnity (often all at once!) and make for a wonderful read.