That Old Country Music
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- Create Date：2022-06-19 07:53:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kevin Barry
- ISBN：1786891433
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Summary
In this rapturous story collection we encounter a ragbag of west of Ireland characters， many on the cusp between love and catastrophe， heartbreak and epiphany， resignation and hope。 These stories affirm Kevin Barry as one of the world's most accomplished and gifted writers， and show an Ireland in a condition of great flux but also as a place where older rhythms， and an older magic， somehow persist。
Reviews
Andrew MacDonald
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Coming off Barry's Night Boat To Tangier and found these stories mixed and am thinking why。 Barry's known for being exceptionally lyrical， and usually that's more suited to shorter work。 Stylists tend to cramp up when they attempt the novel and end up writing something plotless and ineffective。 Somehow for Barry it's the opposite。 He seems to need a wider canvas to work with; the short story form lets him get away with vignettes， scenes， language-driven stuff， while a novel needs his brain to co Coming off Barry's Night Boat To Tangier and found these stories mixed and am thinking why。 Barry's known for being exceptionally lyrical， and usually that's more suited to shorter work。 Stylists tend to cramp up when they attempt the novel and end up writing something plotless and ineffective。 Somehow for Barry it's the opposite。 He seems to need a wider canvas to work with; the short story form lets him get away with vignettes， scenes， language-driven stuff， while a novel needs his brain to come up with happenings to keep the story going。The best of them are the longer - "Oxford Mountain Death Song，" for example， and "Old Stock" are my favourite。 The Roethke story is 100% style and there it works。 Elsewhere， I'm left slightly wanting。 。。。more
Nate LeBoutillier
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Fuck yeah， Kevin Barry。 What a fun and linguistically tasty collection of short stories。 Especially great was "The Coast of Leitrim" and "Who's-Dead McCarthy。" Especially especially great was "Old Stock。" Treat yourself， people。 Fuck yeah， Kevin Barry。 What a fun and linguistically tasty collection of short stories。 Especially great was "The Coast of Leitrim" and "Who's-Dead McCarthy。" Especially especially great was "Old Stock。" Treat yourself， people。 。。。more
BooksRgood
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really enjoy his writing - evocative & beautiful even when the stories are tough。 Hearing them read by the author is great。 The accent heightens the experience。 This story collection was definitely enjoyable but check out Night Boat to Tangier for sure！
Ray
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“Cause of Death: the west of Ireland。”—Kevin BarryBarry is a great writer。 A master of dialogue， description， characters， you name it。 Now I've read all three of his collections， and two of three novels。 Loved the stories， loved Tangier。 Beatlebone got a pretty good three stars （but I dont remember why。 I perhaps should reread it） Bohane I “intend” to tackle very soon。 And this time （I’m pretty sure） I “mean” it。 All but one of these eleven stories takes place on Barry’s main turf， Ireland; the “Cause of Death: the west of Ireland。”—Kevin BarryBarry is a great writer。 A master of dialogue， description， characters， you name it。 Now I've read all three of his collections， and two of three novels。 Loved the stories， loved Tangier。 Beatlebone got a pretty good three stars （but I dont remember why。 I perhaps should reread it） Bohane I “intend” to tackle very soon。 And this time （I’m pretty sure） I “mean” it。 All but one of these eleven stories takes place on Barry’s main turf， Ireland; the other is set in Spain where the author often wintered， because， well， you know。 I’d count seven as favorites， and there is nothing wrong with the other four， although “Toronto and the State of Grace” faltered after a strong start。 It also kept reminding me of some of Roddy Doyle’s similarly structured， mostly-dialogue， two-eccentrics-walk-into-a-bar type stories， which I generally love。 Maybe this is unfair。 Perhaps both authors borrow from similar sources。 The Coast of Leitrim I’d read this one before， and will no doubt reread it many times again。 It’s a dandy。 By the way， the coast of Leitrim is only four kilometers long， the shortest of any non-landlocked county in Ireland。 This is where Seamus takes his new girlfriend， Katherine from Poland， she of the slender frame but chubby knees: She pronounces his name， Shay-moos。 Excerpt: “Seamus Ferris could bear a lot。 In fact， already in his life he had borne plenty。 He could handle just about anything， he felt， short of a happy outcome。 As the summer aged he became unseated by her trust of him and by her apparent want of him。 What kind of maniac could fall for the likes of me， he wondered。 The question was unanswerable and terrifying。” Spoiler， sort of （this is to remind myself what happens）: It ends well， surprisingly。 Enough said。 Deer Season Determined to lose her virginity before she turns eighteen， a girl seduces a rough-edged loner。 From Naoise Dolan’s terrific Stinging Fly review， （link below。）: “Kevin Barry is no stranger to genre， most recently noir in his novel Night Boat to Tangier; this protagonist thinks she’s a Brontë heroine when she’s actually in a Western， with an irate father who’ll run the man out of town。”Ox Mountain Death Song Another goal-oriented protagonist with a self-imposed deadline！ Here， a 65- year old guard， about to retire， has three weeks to bring a local rogue to justice。 This elaborate metaphor illustrates that the prey is just as determined as his pursuer: “The worry for Sergeant Brown was that Canavan could lay up now the way a ferret will lay up in a burrow with the rabbit it has killed， the forked spit of its tongue lapping at neck blood， the pointed teeth taking tendon and bone apart， the claws carefully tearing back the skin—so tender the care， almost loving—to reveal the feast of vitals within， a feed that might last for days， and there is no way of getting the ferret out again short of extendable poles or dynamite。”Who’s-Dead McCarthy “Con McCarthy was our connoisseur of death。 He was its most knowing expert， its deftest elaborator。 There was no death too insignificant for his delectation。 A ninety-six-year-old poor deer in Thormondgate with the lungs papery as moth’s wings and the maplines of the years cracking her lips as she whispered her feeble last in the night—Con would have word of it by the breakfast and he would be up and down the street， his sad recital perfecting as he went。” …… “He’d come sauntering along at noon of day， now almost jaunty with the sadness， the eyes wet and wide， and he’d lean into you， and he might even have to place a palm to your shoulder to steady himself against the terrible excitement of it all。’Roma Kid A heartbreaking， beautiful story。 Might it make a good film？ Maybe。That Old Country Music “Serranta was thirty-two years old to her seventeen and it was not long at all since he had been her mother’s fiancé。 That’s the way it goes with close-knit families， he said。” Roethke In the Bughouse I’d read this one previously， online。 Based on a true event， the American poet， Theodore Roethke， was committed to a psychiatric hospital after suffering a breakdown on an Irish isle。 Not an easy read but it’s a remarkable feat， capturing the POV of the disturbed poet。I quite like this NY Times （link is below） observation : "If you’re fond of sentences like “The sun was setting，” you’re free to leave now。 Barry won’t watch evening fall with so little effort。 “The late October day was peeled and cool，” he’s more likely to write。 “The light was miserly by 6， the last remnants clawed in weak scratches across the sky。” Or: “All across the silver hills in the east the cold spring night lovelessly descends。”"This also is from the Times， which I partly agree with， except the “too lyrical” part。 （I never find Barry to be “too lyrical。” --He’s just right in that department as far as I’m concerned。）: "This is a short book， and even still there are two or three stories that don’t quite swing。 And there are inevitably moments when Barry is too lyrical by half， though it’s easy enough to write off such moments as the cost of his gift。 One of his lines about Roethke may as well be describing himself: “Brokenheartedness is the note that sustains always and this he can play at will。”"https://stingingfly。org/review/that-o。。。https://www。nytimes。com/2021/01/12/bo。。。 。。。more
Barbara
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My Irish fiction book group now meets virtually and it has meant new people can drop in when we read something that interests them。 This meeting was the biggest yet with 15 people including someone from the opposite coast （Pacific）。 Kevin Barry is a club favorite and a friend of the Irish arts organization that sponsors the book club。 We have followed him since the beginning of his career - 15 or so years ago。 In discussing this volume of short stories， some felt that his novels are better than My Irish fiction book group now meets virtually and it has meant new people can drop in when we read something that interests them。 This meeting was the biggest yet with 15 people including someone from the opposite coast （Pacific）。 Kevin Barry is a club favorite and a friend of the Irish arts organization that sponsors the book club。 We have followed him since the beginning of his career - 15 or so years ago。 In discussing this volume of short stories， some felt that his novels are better than his short stories。 I think that this assessment may be based on a readers' personal preference。 I love the short story form and have been reading Irish writers' short story collections for decades。 Irish writers excel in writing in this genre。There were themes that were threaded throughout the collection - love， loss， loneliness， and being lost。 The final theme "being lost" was at the heart of my favorite story "St。 Catherine of the Fields"。 The narrator is a researcher of "sean-nós" （old style） singing。 This is a kind of singing that thrived for centuries in Irish-speaking （Gaelic） areas。 It is plaintiff， moving， and powerful。 Our narrator is determined to "save" lost sean-nós songs， and goes in pursuit of an elusive singer。 He eventually finds a song that is the story of a tragic seduction， a song that had long been "lost"。 Sean-nos singing is at the center of the 2017 Irish film， Song of Granite， a candidate for Best Foreign Language Film for an Oscar。 It is the story of one of the greatest sean-nos singers of the 20th century， Joe Heaney （1919-1984）。 Heaney spent most of his life outside of Ireland， mostly in England and America。 I met him in Boston when friends of mine， native Irish speakers from Costelloe， Ireland， in the Connemara Gaeltacht， brought him from New York for a house party。 At the time， in the late 1970's， Heaney was working as a doorman in New York。 At the end of his life， he was invited to the University of Washington in Seattle， as a visiting artist。 He died in Seattle in 1984。 Another favorite story was "Roma Kid"。 Over the decades， visiting Dublin， I noted the change in panhandlers in downtown Dublin。 In the 70's and 80's， they were most often Travelers， often women with young children。 In the 90's， Travelers disappeared from the streets and Roma women and children replaced them。 In this story， a young Roma girl is sent off by her family who can no longer care for all their children。 The young girl roams the country before she finds shelter。 Throughout her life she thinks about the loss of her family， particularly her four young brothers。 Of the 13 stories， the only one that wasn't a favorite was the final story about the American poet， Roethke， who had a mental breakdown on the remote island of Inishbofin， near Galway。 There is another Inishbofin island in Donegal。 Roethke is committed to a psychiatric hospital on the mainland。Barry is a masterful user of language， and creator of stories。 He is a delight to read， and there are depths to plumb in his stories。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Cassander1
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The stories we're captivating and painted an interesting landscape of people living in Ireland。 I especially enjoyed the story about the old folk song。 The stories we're captivating and painted an interesting landscape of people living in Ireland。 I especially enjoyed the story about the old folk song。 。。。more
Donna Colabella
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Beautifully written short stories with surprise twists。
Francis Pellow
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a beautiful mix of short stories。 One of them is particularly amazing （about a guy who is obsesses with telling people about people who have died）
Susancatobrien
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Not sure what to say about this book， very bleak for me I don’t know what I was expecting but it wouldn’t encourage me to pick up another from the author
ginny lang
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genuinely beautiful writing。 not quite sure what the fuck was going on at times but the descriptions are so simple and irish
Phil
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Excellent collection of short stories which all get to something essential of the West of Ireland， while also having the entertaining jauntiness of a well told tall tale。
Steve
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He never disappoints。 Wonderful collection of stories 。。。 dark， weird， funny， touching。 Who's Dead， McCarthy might be my favorite of the set。 He never disappoints。 Wonderful collection of stories 。。。 dark， weird， funny， touching。 Who's Dead， McCarthy might be my favorite of the set。 。。。more
Deirdre
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Funny and sad- what the Irish do best。
Suzanne
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So Irish in tone and subject; I felt like I was reading brogue。 （Not a bad thing at all。）
Katy Wheatley
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A fantastic collection of short stories from Irish writer， Kevin Barry。 These are darkly funny， troubling little tales that are firmly rooted in the Irish countryside and even though they have no magic in them， they feel like they tap into the myths of the land they are written about。 Barry has a superb way with words and this was an absolute pleasure to read。
Mark Field
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3。5 starsI rarely read short stories， but having read two of Barry's novels and enjoyed them I stumbled across this collection at the library。 Barry's writing is strong and focused， it easily evokes the west of Ireland， the setting for these stories。 My favourite being " Saint Catherine of the Fields" 。。。 a story about an ancient folk song， "All of human cruelty was contained within 。。。"。 The romance of Irish fatalism :）。 An enjoyable read。 3。5 starsI rarely read short stories， but having read two of Barry's novels and enjoyed them I stumbled across this collection at the library。 Barry's writing is strong and focused， it easily evokes the west of Ireland， the setting for these stories。 My favourite being " Saint Catherine of the Fields" 。。。 a story about an ancient folk song， "All of human cruelty was contained within 。。。"。 The romance of Irish fatalism :）。 An enjoyable read。 。。。more
Jenna
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Really well written， mostly dark， sometimes cringeworthy stories。 Strong sense of place and great dialogue。 I loved Night Boat to Tangier， and liked some of these stories a lot， too。
Eric
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Every story is solid with 3 or 4 knockouts。 At no point does he reach the heights of Night Boat to Tangier， but he's such a great writer that every sentence is a joy。 Every story is solid with 3 or 4 knockouts。 At no point does he reach the heights of Night Boat to Tangier， but he's such a great writer that every sentence is a joy。 。。。more
Moira Allbritton
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A rather melancholy collection。 I really enjoyed Night Boat to Tangier; however， this set felt more like rough drafts than refined pieces。 The eponymous story was the star of the show。
05450003081322
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Really beautiful， poetic prose。 Barry creates intriguing， layered characters and situates them in scenic Ireland with a steady and delicate hand。 As always with a short story collection， some resonated more with me than others， and reading them all in one sitting， my attention began to flag toward the end。 Well worth your time， especially if， like me， you trend toward the "abiding sense of tragedy， which sustain[s] through temporary periods of joy" （Yeats）。 Really beautiful， poetic prose。 Barry creates intriguing， layered characters and situates them in scenic Ireland with a steady and delicate hand。 As always with a short story collection， some resonated more with me than others， and reading them all in one sitting， my attention began to flag toward the end。 Well worth your time， especially if， like me， you trend toward the "abiding sense of tragedy， which sustain[s] through temporary periods of joy" （Yeats）。 。。。more
Stuart
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I can't recommend this enough， an excellent book of short stories。 I can't recommend this enough， an excellent book of short stories。 。。。more
MavM
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I think that it's perhaps impossible for me to give a short story collection more that 4/5。 This is a failing on my part， but to get that 5th star you have to suck me in， produce something whole; inevitably that can't happen with short stories as they simply don't last long enough。 That means of course that 4 stars is about as good as this collection from the excellent Kevin Barry can be。 These are tales from the underbelly of Ireland; not the criminal underbelly but the unseen parts， the daily I think that it's perhaps impossible for me to give a short story collection more that 4/5。 This is a failing on my part， but to get that 5th star you have to suck me in， produce something whole; inevitably that can't happen with short stories as they simply don't last long enough。 That means of course that 4 stars is about as good as this collection from the excellent Kevin Barry can be。 These are tales from the underbelly of Ireland; not the criminal underbelly but the unseen parts， the daily drinkers， the pregnant teenagers， the runaways。 We meet men who sit in cafés eyeing up the Polish waitress， or who walk the streets gathering news of the departed， women who bewitch the lonely。 All of these stories are in Kevin Barry's distinctive style， all rich colours mixed with a sense of loss and being lost。 More people should read him。 。。。more
Rick Book
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An outstanding collection by one of my favourite writers。
Rick
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Irish stories with prose so eloquent and poeticas to turn one green。
Matthew
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This collection of stories was my first exposure to Kevin Barry。 I was absolutely blown away by the gorgeous prose and by the off-kilter and equal parts tragic and darkly comic characters of rural western Ireland。 Not every story is perfect， but the dialogue often reminded me of the more lyrical and profane passages from David Milch's Deadwood series。 This collection of stories was my first exposure to Kevin Barry。 I was absolutely blown away by the gorgeous prose and by the off-kilter and equal parts tragic and darkly comic characters of rural western Ireland。 Not every story is perfect， but the dialogue often reminded me of the more lyrical and profane passages from David Milch's Deadwood series。 。。。more
Molly Cox
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I'm still learning to appreciate short stories and this was a good book to help me in that journey。 Like many others - I loved The Coast of Leitrim。 I know people like Seamus。 "The heat，" he tried again。 "Makes the place seem like France。 We wouldn't be used to it。 Passing out from it。 Ambulance on standby。"I also loved the title story and Roma kid。 Really liked Who's-dead McCarthy。 Some of the others were too dark and sad although， as has been pointed out by others， the author seems to slip in I'm still learning to appreciate short stories and this was a good book to help me in that journey。 Like many others - I loved The Coast of Leitrim。 I know people like Seamus。 "The heat，" he tried again。 "Makes the place seem like France。 We wouldn't be used to it。 Passing out from it。 Ambulance on standby。"I also loved the title story and Roma kid。 Really liked Who's-dead McCarthy。 Some of the others were too dark and sad although， as has been pointed out by others， the author seems to slip in a bit of lightness and humor in every story to help us along the way。 。。。more
Pushti
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Lyrical and poetic， stories about lonliness， heart desires， deep and poignant。
David Allen
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Ah now。 Doesn’t quite stand up to your man’s Night Boat to Tangier but that’s a tall order。 A bit hit or miss but there’s always a lovely turn of phrase。
Bart
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Characteristically masterful
Lachlan
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One of the most distinctive voices I've read in ages。 I loved it。 One of the most distinctive voices I've read in ages。 I loved it。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=That Old Country Music
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=That Old Country Music&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft