Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for a digital galley of this novel.
I have not read any other books by Patrick Taylor in his IrishThank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for a digital galley of this novel.
I have not read any other books by Patrick Taylor in his Irish Country series so I was interested to read his author's note where he mentioned that fans of the series seemed to be worried about having the actual historical events which began in early 1969 in Ulster impinge on the lives of the people in Ballybucklebo. The conflict could not be ignored so Taylor decided to contrast the unrest in Ulster with the steadfastness in Ballybucklebo. As a new reader of the series I appreciated the explanation on such a basic level of the unrest that grew into a long period of conflict. The unrest described did not make me dislike this book, but it did make me curious to read some of the other twelve books to see why readers are so enthusiastic about this series.
The daily life of people living in Ballybucklebo carries on here in much the same way life goes by for most people. There are near tragedies - a fire destroys all but the outside walls of a cottage, and there are personal problems - a couple want to conceive but haven't had any success. The neighborly spirit and personal friendships come into play to help whenever they can. A new GP trainee, Doctor Emer McCarthy, has been attached to the practice and is receiving additional training from Dr. Barry Laverty. No matter how much the residents of Ballybucklebo accept each other regardless of religious beliefs the same thing cannot be said for others outside their village. The Ulster march of 1969 can't help but have an impact on this small community. The book contains recipes from Kinky Auchinleck for Beef and Guinness Stew, Mussels in Guinness, Irish Wheaten Bread, Creamy Chicken Soup, and Kipper Pate. I'm not so sure about the Kipper Pate, but the others sound good enough to tempt me to try them. ...more
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