A review of “Woodbrook” in 100 words by Catherine Stover
When asked to recommend a classic Irish memoir, a bookseller in Dublin went straight to this book. As it turns out, she wasn’t alone in saying that reading this book is one of “life’s greatest pleasures.” This idiosyncratic blend of a love story, folk lore, nature writing, and social history is dense. If you are curious about how a long shadow of gruesome politics have influenced Irish perspectives and art, this book is for you. Great memoirs can make readers feel as if they’ve been drawn into a circle of intimate friends. This book reached that high bar for me.
Work cited:
Thomson, David. Woodbrook. Vintage edition, 1991, p. 315.