Hello everyone!
I am preparing for a week-long vacation to Ireland over the New Year, and am just crazy with excitement for planning all the elements. One thing I always do first though is research books that will help me to better understand the cultural and historical climate of the region I’ll be visiting. So I began preparing a list, which just kept getting longer and longer! I definitely have my work cut out for me. If you are thinking of a trip to Ireland too, check out some of these books right along with me. And when you are completely excited by what you’ve read and can’t stand not to visit, drop me a line and we’ll make it happen. In the meantime, happy reading and dreaming!
Here is where we should start
James Joyce is worshiped in Ireland. There is a Dublin Writers Museum that depicts his life and contributions, as well as a James Joyce Centre in Dublin that is devoted to just Joyce. I'd start with him.
Dubliners
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young man
Ulysses if feeling adventurous*. This is one of the most ponderous books around.
Irish myths and legends- ISBN: 051748904X. Mythology is very important to the way Ireland has developed over the years. Important Celtic sites can be seen today, such as the Hill of Tara and Newgrange.
The collected poems of W.B. Yeats. Yeats is another of Ireland's favorite sons. In fact he was the first Irishman to be given the Nobel Prize for literature.
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Beckett is known as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, and also one of the first postmodernist authors. He too won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I chose this book to begin with because the Dublin Writers Museum specifically mentions that they have an original or first edition of this work in their collection. And it's short.
Important works of fiction from Irish Authors, more or less chronological and cross-listed with the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I put Beckett on the top because of his significance to Irish literature.
The Trilogy:
Molloy – Samuel Beckett
Malone Dies – Samuel Beckett
The Unnamable – Samuel Beckett
Murphy – Samuel Beckett
How it is - Samuel Beckett
Watt – Samuel Beckett
Worstward Ho – Samuel Beckett
Mercier et Camier – Samuel Beckett
Gulliver’s Travels - Jonathan Swift
A modest proposal and other satires -Jonathan Swift
A Sentimental Journey – Laurence Sterne
Tristram Shandy – Laurence Sterne
The vicar of Wakefield - Oliver Goldsmith
Castle Rackrent – Maria Edgeworth
The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth
Ormond – Maria Edgeworth
The Albigenses – Charles Robert Maturin
In a Glass Darkly - Sheridan Le Fanu
Uncle Silas - Sheridan Le Fanu
Dracula- Bram Stoker*
To the North – Elizabeth Bowen
The Last September – Elizabeth Bowen
Eva Trout – Elizabeth Bowen
The Heat of the Day – Elizabeth Bowen
The House in Paris – Elizabeth Bowen
A World of Love – Elizabeth Bowen
Amongst Women – John McGahern
That They May Face the Rising Sun – John McGahern
The Siege of Krishnapur – J.G. Farrell
Troubles – J.G. Farrell
The Singapore Grip – J.G. Farrell
The Sea – John Banville
Shroud – John Banville
The Untouchable – John Banville
The Book of Evidence – John Banville
The Newton Letter – John Banville
The Butcher Boy – Patrick McCabe
The Master – Colm Tóibín
The Heather Blazing – Colm Tóibín
Felicia’s Journey – William Trevor
Fools of Fortune – William Trevor
The Story of Lucy Gault – William Trevor
The Gathering - Anne Enright
Other notable books by Irish Authors not on the 1001 books list:
Circle of Friends- Maeve Binchy*
Tara Road- Maeve Binchy
P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
At Swim-Two-Birds by Brian O'Nolan
The Wild Irish Girl- Sidney Owenson (or Lady Morgan)
Classic Irish Short Stories by various (2 parts)
Guests of the Nation (short story) - Frank O’ Connor
They aren’t Irish, but they write good historical novels, so I’ve included them
Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga by Edward Rutherfurd (I’ll be reading this soon. His New York historical novel was amazing) This book is followed by the sequel Rebels of Ireland.
Ireland by Frank Delaney
Some good nonfiction about Ireland and Irish History
How the Irish Saved Civilization - Thomas Cahill*
Ireland: History of a Nation- David Ross
The Great Hunger: Ireland: 1845-1849 by Cecil Woodham-Smith
Wars of the Irish Kings: A Thousand Years of Struggle, from the Age of Myth through the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I by David Willis McCullough
Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
*read or currently reading. For the most part I have enjoyed these books, although I must say that Ulysses was just a bit too far over my head.
So there is my book list for Ireland. Obviously I’ll not get near reading all of them, but it is good to have something to aspire to. Is there a notable book I’ve missed? Please let me know!
