“The Commitments” is set in north Dublin and follows Jimmy Rabbite’s attempts to bring soul “back” to the city. The band that Jimmy puts together – The Commitments pf the book’s title – needs a little work. However, despite the fact that most of the band are still young, the raw talent appears to be there. The group’s one ‘old-timer’ is their trumpet player, Joey ‘The Lips’ Fagan. Joey not only has the talent, he also apparently has the pedigree : he hold jazz in low regard and has performed with – among others – Otis, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett and Booker T and the MGs. Joey, who insists on calling everyone Brother (or Sister, if it’s a Commitmentette), plays a big part in holding the band togetherthrough many dark days. (These dark days are largely caused by Deco Cuffe, the band’s vocalist – a singer with a big voice, but unfortunately with a bigger ego…).

“The Commitments” is a very enjoyable, short and easy read – even funnier if you’ve actually spent any time in Dublin. (Bloody Jackeens !). The language is occasionally a little ripe, and while a little familiarity with the Dublin dialect wouldn’t be a bad thing, it’s definitely recommended.

Although I can see “All the Pretty Horses” is so highly thought of, the style and approach McCarthy adopted didn’t always work too well for me. In fact, I felt that – at times – the style hindered the story, rather than helping it along. The lack of punctuation is often commented on and, while it helps establish the sort of characters that feature in the book, it occasionally left things a little unclear as to who was saying what. Similarly, some sentences featured five or six ‘ands’ and ran beyond the length of a standard paragraph. As a result, there were times I couldn’t stop myself from drifting off and absent-mindedly turning the page. Overall, I’m glad I read it – I’ll just not be in much of a rush to read books two and three of “The Border Trilogy”...

Although “The Inimitable Jeeves” is not the first appearance of the famous double act, Jeeves and Wooster, it is the first book to be ‘completely’ dedicated to them. It was first published in 1923, and was originally known in America as, simply, “Jeeves”.

The book is set in the 1920s England and features Wodehouse’s best known creations : Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves. Bertie is the book’s wealthy, good-natured and rather dim narrator. He’s a member of the “idle rich” and, rather than having to work for a living, lives off an allowance provided by his uncle. He spends much of his time in the bar-room of the Drones Club, is fond of the occasional wager and has an appalling dress sense. Luckily, Bertie has Jeeves to look after him. Without Jeeves, Bertie’s life would be a mess : he makes an excellent hangover cure, his bets usually win and he’s intelligent enough to rescue Bertie from nearly any situation. He disapproves of Bertie’s more garish items of clothing, and will – occasionally – take it upon himself to deal with the offending item.

All of the short stories are connected and most of them involve Bertie’s friend Bingo Little, who is always falling in love – occasionally while still ‘officially’ in love with another. It’s Bingo who most consistently drops Bertie into trouble : Bingo’s schemes generally aim for an increase in his allowance from his Uncle, with the intention of marrying his latest girlfriend. Generally, Bingo’s intended is a girl his uncle wouldn’t approve of – so he ropes Bertie and Jeeves into helping him out. There are also appearances for Bertie’s troublesome cousins, Claude and Eustace, a devious bookmaker called Steggles and Bertie’s fearsome Aunt Agatha. Bertie is held in very low esteem by Agatha, but she is determined that Bertie should marry – Bertie’s opinion, as far as she is concerned, is irrelevant.

A very easy and enjoyable read.

Iain Banks first novel, The Wasp Factory, was published in 1984. In the years since, he’s won critical acclaim, topped best-seller lists and has even written Science Fiction books under the cunning nom-de-plume ‘Iain M. Banks’. He’s also seen this book, “The Crow Road”, adapted for television by the BBC in 1996. “Whit” is his eighth non-sci-fi book, was first published in 1995 and comes with the subtitle “Isis Amongst the Unsaved”.

The book’s central character is Isis Whit, commonly called Is – though more formally known as Blessed or Beloved Isis. Isis is a Luskentyrian, a member of a religious sect founded by her grandfather, Salvador. Like him, she is very important to the faithful – she holds the position ‘Elect of God’ and is a future leader of the Luskentyrians. Home is High Easter Offerance – located in Scotland, on the banks of the River Forth. The book opens in May 1995, when Isis is nineteen years old and with the Festival of Love approaching. The Luskentyrians consider people born on the 29th of February very special – the Blessed Isis herself was born on that date. As a result, a Festival of Love is held every four years – at the end of May in the year preceding a Leap Year. As the end of May is nine months before the end of February and it is a Festival of Love, I’m sure you can figure out what happens at it…

Isis’ cousin, Morag – while not strictly considered a missionary – has been living in London for six years. Based on her letters, it appears she has become a successful musician – an internationally renowned baryton soloist, no less. She had been due to return to High Easter Offerance for the festival, where she would have been the Guest of Honour. However, her most recent letter to the community includes the news that she has turned her back on her faith and will not be returning. One possible option was for Isis to take Morag’s place as guest of Honour – something she wasn’t entirely keen on. Instead, Isis is sent to London to try and rescue her cousin – the book tells the story of her journey and return.

“Whit” is a very enjoyable book. It’s told entirely from Isis’ point of view – she describes her journey, outlines her discoveries, explains her beliefs and tells the history of her sect. Luskentyrians avoid modern technology as far as possible – nothing at High Easter Offerance runs on electricity, for example. It’s amusing, at times, to see her reaction to life in the ‘modern’ world. There are several very strong supporting characters – Yolanda, Isis’ very colourful and hugely entertaining Texan grandmother, particularly stands out. The only disappointment is that some of them didn’t make a bigger appearance. Highly recommended !

So after googling ‘coffee trivia’, I found a few things out.

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The prototype of the first espresso machine was created in France in 1822.

The Arabs are generally believed to be the first to brew coffee.

A four verse poem to coffee was written in Mecca in 1511.

In the book, Trip Through Happy Arabia, a Frenchman documented his travels through Arabia. This was in the year 1716, and in it was one of the first documentations of the history of coffee.

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So, my question is : does George W. Bush drink coffee ?

C.

Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958 and saw his first novel, “The Commitments”, published in 1987. It was later adapted for the big screen, a version that saw Star Trek’s Colm Meaney and a very young Andrea Corr among the cast. “The Snapper” was firs published in 1990 and is the second book in his “Barrytown Trilogy”.

Where “The Commitments” followed Jimmy Rabbite’s attempts to bring soul “back” to Dublin, he takes a back seat in “The Snapper”. (He now hopes to be a famous DJ, rather than a manager or a drummer – an ambition that quickly earns him the nickname “Larry Gogan”. You’ll probably need to have spent little time in Ireland to catch that one… ). Instead, the starring roles go to his sister, Sharon, and his father, Jimmy Senior. The book opens with Sharon in a horrible situation : twenty years old, still living at home and three months pregnant, she’s breaking the ‘bad’ news to her parents. She’s decided not to name the father – though, there’s plenty of speculation, suggestion and rumour over the following six months. Some of it is embarrassingly close to the mark, and causes her no end of trouble. While Sharon’s pregnancy obviously isn’t easy for her, it also puts Jimmy Snr through the mill – shock, concern, embarrassment and anger. He even, briefly, casts himself as her champion in defending her honour.

A very enjoyable and easily book – it’s also a good deal better than “The Commitments”. While the language is (authentically) ‘colourful’, it’s generally a good-natured book and there’s plenty of humour. (However, some of the humour may be lost if you’re not familiar with the Irish dialect). Well worth reading.

It doesn’t matter where you go, you will never find any packet of crisps as tasty as a packet of Tayto. If you don’t live in Ireland, but you know an Irish emigrant / immigrant (well, it depends on your point of view, doesn’t it ?) – mention these things to them, and see what happens :
(i) Cidona
(ii) red lemonade
(iii) Tayto Cheese and Onion.

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were formed in Glasgow in 1982 and released “Rattlesnakes”, their debut album, two years later. Despite being praised wildly by the UK’s ‘indie’ music press from the outset, it also proved to be an excellent album. Cleverly written, “Rattlesnakes” also features more catchy tunes than a debut album is generally entitled to.

For this 20th Anniversary release, the “main” album has been remastered – though the track listing remains the same. It opens with “Perfect Skin”, one of the band’s best known and most fondly remembered songs. (It even merits a mention in “The Crow Road”, by Ian Banks). It’s followed directly by the album’s title track – a lively number that namechecks Eve Marie Saint and Simone de Beauvoir. It’s also one of the songs that benefits hugely from Anne Dudley’s superb string arrangements. “Mission Street” and “2cv” are a little more introspective, while “Forest Fire” (I’m reliably informed) features a Bo Diddly drumbeat. “Four Flights Up” just about makes it as my favorite song on the album – another lively track, the lyrics always make me smile. (“Must you tell me all your secrets when it’s hard enough to love you knowing nothing ?”).

The bonus disc contains 18 tracks, is nearly an hour long and is made up of demos, live tracks, radio sessions, b-sides and an out-take. Only three tracks from the ‘main’ CD (“Down on Mission Street”, “Charlotte Street” and “Forest Fire”) don’t make a second appearance here. However, the out-take is a track called “Beautiful City” which was recorded for the original album but dropped. To make up for the oversight, the version that would’ve made the album and a live version feature. Two of the other live tracks were recorded at Glasgow’s Barrowlands – the crowd’s reaction to “2cv” gives some indication to how popular the band were at the time.

For anyone who’s a fan of the band or album, I would definitely recommend picking this up. As well as the bonus CD, it comes with a small booklet the band have put together covering their memories of the songs and recording sessions. (There’s even mention of tennis matches against the Sisters of Mercy – who’d have pictured that ). However, with or without the extras, “Rattlesnakes is simply a must-have album : it doesn’t sound twenty years old !

Michael McLaverty, a teacher by profession, was born in Monaghan in 1904 and spent most of his working life in Belfast. “Call My Brother Back” – his first novel – was originally published in 1939 and was apparently a favourite of Bing Crosby’s.

As the book starts it is 1918, and Colm MacNeill is a 13-year-old boy living on Rathlin Island. Rathlin is found on the Sea of Moyle, between Ireland’s North Antrim Coast and Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre. It’s not an easy life, by today’s standards – Colm and his family scrape a living from the land and sea, with light provided by candles and heat by an open fire. There’s only one school on the island, which Colm has just left – and he’s due to be sent to Belfast, on the mainland, to continue his education. He already has two other siblings living in Belfast – Alec and Theresa – and when he leaves he’ll leave two younger at home on the island – Jamesy and Clare.

Life in Belfast was to be hugely different to life on Rathlin for Colm. Rathlin was an isolated, rural existence, where the people were largely oblivious to the workings of the outside world. Belfast, on the other hand, brought narrow, terraced houses, cars, trams and the dirtier air caused by factories and mills. Initially a boarder at school, the transition was to prove very difficult for him. It was made a little easier when his family also leave Rathlin for the city and he is able to move back into a house with them. Prior to his arrival in Belfast, Colm certainly seemed to have little idea that he was living through a period of great upheaval in Irish history. The Easter Rising had taken place in Dublin only a couple of years previously, but had little effect on Colm and his way of life on Rathlin. The Partition of Ireland – the division of the island into Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland – was to have a great effect on his life in Belfast.

“Call My Brother Back”, is an excellent book – McLaverty, like Walter Macken, is a natural storyteller. While some phrases may be a little strange for those readers who aren’t familiar with Northern Ireland, it is a very easily read book. It does have a touch of sadness and regret about it, with sectarian hatred having a real effect on Colm and his family. However, it is a book I would highly recommend.

Walter Macken, a native of Galway, was born in 1915 and died in his home city at the age of 51. A writer, an actor and a playwright, he is perhaps best known for his novel “Flight of the Doves” – which was adapted for the cinema – and his “Irish Trilogy”. “The Scorching Wind” is the third book of this trilogy, and is set in the early 1900s. Although the book itself is a work of fiction, many of the ‘background’ events actually happened – for example, the Easter Rising of 1916, the partition of Ireland in 1921 and the Irish Civil War (1922-23).

The book opens in the West of Ireland in 1915, with two brothers resting in the shade of a haystack. Much to the disgust of their father, Dualta – the elder brother – has joined the British Army. Dualta believed the words of John Redmond, the leader of the Home Rule Party at Westminster. Redmond had suggested that Ireland would be granted Home Rule if the Irish Volunteers fought for the British in the Great War – a false promise. The book focuses more on Dominic, however – the younger of the two brothers. He sees his brother off to war, the pair travelling with a close friend called Poric into town. Poric has also disappointed Dominic’s father, his former teacher, by joining the police. Shortly after leaving his brother and friend. Dominic meets a man called Sam Browne – who gradually involves Dominic in the struggle for freedom. Among the many others who also become involved are Lowry, an acquaintance of Dominic’s at college and the pretty Finola Brady – not to mention Poric and Dualta, on his return from war.

While this is the third book in a trilogy, it’s not strictly necessary to read them in order. However, I think it’s probably better if you do – if you enjoy one of them, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy all three. It appears the heroes of the two previous books (Dominick, in “Seek the Fair Land” and Dualta, in “The Silent People”) are ancestors of the two brother. In a way, I found this to be the saddest book of the three, with the differences between the two brothers becoming more pronounced as the book progresses. (If you’ve enjoyed this book, you might also want to try “Call My Brother Back”, by Michael McLaverty. It’s set in Belfast, at the same time as this book – McLavery, like Macken, is an excellent storyteller.)