Carry On, Rosa: January 2020

Good morning folks!

A few days ago, I had quite a long train journey home (all of my trains were late and I missed two of them because of that), so I decided to finish my book about Irish history. I am a sucker for Ireland and, I have to admit, also for history (my parents both studied history, maybe that had an impact on me after all). I wrote a review on Goodreads and decided to put it up on here as well.

A Concise History of Ireland by Conor Cruise O'Brien
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"This looked promising, but ended in a double catastrophe."

I enjoyed this book, I really did. I have to admit, though, that it was a bit hard to read at first. There is so much information about everything that it is hard to keep up. Of course, this is a concise history of Ireland, it was meant to be a lot. However, this "a lot" turned into too many names, places, and situations that weren't always properly explained. For example, the story of St. Patrick which is such an integral part of Irish history (it's called St. Patrick's Day for a reason) was almost completely left out and just the results of his actions were mentioned. Once it got closer to the 19th/20th century, it improved considerably. There was still a great amount of input but it was explained better, perhaps because it is closer to today. A good example of this would be the Easter Rising which the authors structured and elucidated clearly. Upon reaching the last stage of this book, the partition problems, and the ensuing Civil War (The Troubles), I did not want it to end. This was one of the most interesting and also, naturally, the most recent and topical parts. The Battle of the Bogside could have been elaborated on a bit more, but since all the events leading up to it were cleared up nicely, that was not a problem.
Two more things about the O'Brien's book are, first of all, some hilarious passages that mitigate the dire circumstances at least a little bit. Secondly, and more importantly, the edition of my book was published in 1997, meaning the Civil War hadn't been resolved yet at the time. Nowadays, the Good Friday Agreement (1998) is in action which symbolised an end to the Troubles.
In conclusion, if you want to know more about the broad history of Ireland, sprinkled in with a few amusing phrases, this is the right book for you. Nevertheless, I already had a bit of knowledge about Irish history which helped me understand a few things better.

I hope you're having a good morning, day, evening, or night and remember that you are here, you are valid, and you will be okay ♥

Goodbye

magdalena

¡Hola folks!

Today I finished yet another Seamus Heaney Poetry Collection and thought I'd share my thoughts on Goodreads. I am a huge Seamus Heaney fan, and I even have the S of his initial in his handwriting tattooed on my wrist. Generally speaking, I am a sucker for poetry, especially Irish poetry, and Heaney is at the forefront of that.

Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"I rhyme to see myself, to set the darkness echoing." (Personal Helicon)

As always, Seamus Heaney's poems blew me away. Even though Death of a Naturalist is his first poetry collection, it is already marvellous. Heaney wrote these poems before The Troubles, which is noticeable in the themes he uses. They centre more around his childhood and his early adulthood, and he is often the focaliser. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the importance and greatness of his poetry. Whether we have poems like "Digging", which is about the differences between his father and himself, or "Mid-Term Break", one of his most emotional works about his brother's death, we have a clear image in mind, even if we can't relate. Just like every other collection, this one is filled with beautiful quotes, does not disappoint, and is worth a read.
My personal favourites are Digging, Mid-Term Break, Valediction, and Scaffolding.

I hope you're having a good morning, day, evening, or night and remember that you are here, you are valid, and you will be okay ♥