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patmcmanamon's review against another edition
4.0
My ancestors lived on Achill Island off County Mayo, and I grabbed this book in Dublin in hopes it would give me an inkling into what their life must have been like. The Blaskets are more remote and unforgiving, but the lifestyle has to be similar. This book about life on Great Blasket in the late 19th and early 20th century is a memoir of a tougher time in a tough environment. The tales of the seals and the fishing and the humor and the stories shared between islanders are memorable. As is the tale of how the women of the island handled the reps of landlords come to collect rents. The island is harsh and beautiful, surrounded by a raging sea. It is lively and primitive. Its people are determined and gentle. Filled with energy and weariness. It’s not a exciting tale, but it is a compelling one. O’Crohan writes that he was glad to be able to record a way of life now past. As I finished the book, I thought, ‘so are we.’
kathieboucher's review
5.0
I bought this book in Ireland some years ago and it’s been staring up at me, unread, ever since. Picked it up and read it this week and was totally enchanted.
This is an account of life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on an island off the coast of Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, recounted by an island resident of great charm and good humor. Life and death, custom and tradition, fishing and pub visits—the author paints vivid images of his neighbors and of that vanished life (island residents were permanently evacuated in the mid-1950s).
I’ve seen many of the places he mentions, and some Irish forbears lived in the area. So I loved every bit of this book, especially passages like this: “One after another looked down and we could see that the pool was full of whatever it was that was there. However, none of us could actually make out what it was we were looking at.” Delightful.
This is an account of life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on an island off the coast of Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, recounted by an island resident of great charm and good humor. Life and death, custom and tradition, fishing and pub visits—the author paints vivid images of his neighbors and of that vanished life (island residents were permanently evacuated in the mid-1950s).
I’ve seen many of the places he mentions, and some Irish forbears lived in the area. So I loved every bit of this book, especially passages like this: “One after another looked down and we could see that the pool was full of whatever it was that was there. However, none of us could actually make out what it was we were looking at.” Delightful.
riaryan's review against another edition
3.0
This is an important historical document as well as it being a biography, giving the reader an insight into life on a remote Irish island at the turn of the 20th Century. Not always an easy read, and may have benefitted from a glossary, but there are parts of this that will stay with me, and I found myself sad to leave the place once I'd finished.
elisala's review against another edition
4.0
Un témoignage inattendu d'un habitant de l'île du Grand Blasket, au Sud-Ouest de l'Irlande, au 19ème siècle.
Témoignage rare d'une époque totalement révolue, durant laquelle une poignée de gens (allez, 200 à tout casser) vivait sur un bout de terre, de leur agriculture, de leur élevage, prélevant la tourbe, péchant le poisson et le homard, chassant le phoque, prenant le bateau pour aller à la messe, pour se marier, pour enterrer, risquant la mort à chaque traversée (ou presque).
Au-delà de l'aspect témoignage, assez incroyable quand on y pense, j'ai bien aimé le fait que le traducteur a sciemment évité toute note de bas de page. Certes, ça ne facilite pas la compréhension de certains passages, mais au moins, on peut se laisser emporter par ce récit brut de décoffrage, aux méandres parfois un peu tortueux, aux transitions quasi inexistantes, et c'est vraiment impressionnant, ce gars qui a (ré)appris à lire et écrire sa propre langue sur le tard, et a entrepris la rédaction de ses mémoires, et qui nous livre ce témoignage complètement hors du temps, d'un mode de vie tellement éloigné de notre mode de vie moderne.
C'est chouette.
Témoignage rare d'une époque totalement révolue, durant laquelle une poignée de gens (allez, 200 à tout casser) vivait sur un bout de terre, de leur agriculture, de leur élevage, prélevant la tourbe, péchant le poisson et le homard, chassant le phoque, prenant le bateau pour aller à la messe, pour se marier, pour enterrer, risquant la mort à chaque traversée (ou presque).
Au-delà de l'aspect témoignage, assez incroyable quand on y pense, j'ai bien aimé le fait que le traducteur a sciemment évité toute note de bas de page. Certes, ça ne facilite pas la compréhension de certains passages, mais au moins, on peut se laisser emporter par ce récit brut de décoffrage, aux méandres parfois un peu tortueux, aux transitions quasi inexistantes, et c'est vraiment impressionnant, ce gars qui a (ré)appris à lire et écrire sa propre langue sur le tard, et a entrepris la rédaction de ses mémoires, et qui nous livre ce témoignage complètement hors du temps, d'un mode de vie tellement éloigné de notre mode de vie moderne.
C'est chouette.
mollag's review against another edition
2.0
This was lent to me and not a book I would have picked up to read.
I did enjoy it but found that some of Tom’s memories petered out to nothing and some descriptions not clear enough for me to fully understand.
I suppose this is a book of memory and a picture of life on Blasket that had never been recorded before. I does paint a picture of the daily struggles and dangers , as well as some of the pleasures but ultimately I found it a bit of a struggle from start to end.
I did enjoy it but found that some of Tom’s memories petered out to nothing and some descriptions not clear enough for me to fully understand.
I suppose this is a book of memory and a picture of life on Blasket that had never been recorded before. I does paint a picture of the daily struggles and dangers , as well as some of the pleasures but ultimately I found it a bit of a struggle from start to end.
grimhand's review against another edition
4.0
A fine read, being the memoirs of living on Great Blasket Island in the 1800s.
From pg. 244: “I have written minutely of much that we did, for it was my wish that somewhere there should be a memorial of it all, and I have done my best to set down the character of the people about me so that some record of us might live after us, for the likes of us will never be again. ”
From pg. 244: “I have written minutely of much that we did, for it was my wish that somewhere there should be a memorial of it all, and I have done my best to set down the character of the people about me so that some record of us might live after us, for the likes of us will never be again. ”
calidaithi's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0