I received this book a long time ago, and I tried to read it. I really did. But I was so frustrated and bored with the story that I just became unwilling to waste any more time. The story switches back and forth between time periods, and I found this very annoying because just as one part of the story was getting sort of interesting, it would be interrupted by the other story. It was confusing and jarring. I really wasn't enjoying it.

I actually received this book in an Early Reviewer batch almost two years ago. It has taken me this long to review it because I loathed it so completely.

I found Mr. Delaney's writing heavy and pedantic. And the plot seems like clouds on a windy day: never quite standing still but never quite coming together either.

The descriptions of various hardships were boring and/or ridiculous and the conversations dull and cliched. It felt like the worst sort of Victorian melodrama.

Surprisingly, when I read reviews of the author's other book, Ireland, people seemed to love it. I suppose every author has an off-day now and then, but this was ridiculous. ( )

Tipperary **
By: Frank Delaney

The Irish history and the plight of a conquered people is well done in Delaney’s book. He uses a back and forth, between time and voices which for some reason annoyed me. I became uninterested in the fate of the hero, or the estate. Maybe later I will try the book again. ( )

I didn't really enjoy this book. I didn't finish so I cannot give a full review. I did make several attempts at it, but I couldn't see wasting more time on a book I just didn't like. I normally enjoy books of this sort, but I found it confusing and did nothing to hold my interest. ( )

I enjoyed this book. The writing was quiet beautiful and the descriptions made me want to visit Ireland. Also, I learned a great deal of history without feeling like I was reading a textbook. That is always a plus from me. ( )

Frank Delaney “Tipperary”

The beginning of the book, in fact, the first two chapters were slow reading, but after that the story develops and embraces the reader.

The narrative is told by two individuals and switches back and forth between them throughout the book. The first voice is Charles O’Brien who was born in the Victorian Irish era during a time of the famine. O’Brien keeps a personal record of everything that happens to him in his travels…the good and the bad. The second voice is another historian, Michael Nugent, who finds Charles O’Brien’s chronicle and investigates and verifies facts and events with a surprise at the end.

Charles O’Brien falls in love with April Burke and she rejects him. But he never gives up and continues to pursue her.

Ireland enfolds before your eyes with Frank Delaney’s descriptions of the land, the people and the love the people have for the land. After reading the book, I wanted to visit Ireland.

This wonderful book tells the tale of a romantic love story and strives to explain how much the Irish love their homeland. ( )

Ireland. The word conjures up many images. Green fields, low mountains, picturesque tranquility; rough and tough fighting men, beautiful ladies, and fair haired children; great authors, great fighters, and a fight for nationhood that spanned centuries; each image a part of Ireland, each depicting a land of many facets. To most readers, Ireland is the home or birthplace of Yeats and Shaw, Wilde and Joyce. The Irish urge to create beauty from within their indomitable spirit led to many a feat in all spheres of life.

It is this spirit that Frank Delaney captures in Tipperary, his third US publication. Delaney is himself an émigré from Ireland, born in the very town where the novel is set. His knowledge of the town and its environs comes through clearly, as does his experience as a BBC broadcaster and judge for the Man Booker Prize.

Tipperary is told primarily through the voices of two men, separated by a generation, one living at the dawn of the 20th century, and the other at the dawn of the 21st. They are both historians, one writing a personal and contemporary history, the other a commentator on the first. Charles O’Brien, the former of these, is a man of Victorian Ireland, a gentleman born in 1860 to an Ireland depopulated by famine. It is from him that the reader receives most of the story. O’Brien tells of the tumultuous times in which he lived by keeping a personal journal, something he calls a “small personal history of Ireland in my lifetime – a life of love and pain and loss and trouble and delight and knowledge.” The other historian, Michael Nugent, discovered Charles O’Brien’s text and interrupts the narrative often to explain or verify O’Brien’s assertions or historical accuracy. However, unbeknownst to Nugent, he has a personal stake in the story, one which develops as the plot progresses.

The plot follows O’Brien as he pursues April Burke, a woman twenty years his junior with whom he as fallen in love, but who vehemently rejects him. In the process, he meets with famous Irish notables of the period such as George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Oscar Wilde, Charles Stewart Parnell, and even Michael Collins, highly esteemed leader of the Irish Republican Army. April is discovered to be the heir to Tipperary Castle (which had lain unclaimed for fifty years) in a time when the landed aristocracy is greatly out of favor in Ireland. Many of the Irish wish the return of their ancestral lands to the people and civil and military unrest are on the rise. Against this backdrop April pursues her land, and Charles pursues her. Ultimately, it is a love story, one of a man for a woman, and of a people for its land.

The novel itself is beautifully written. Delaney switches back and forth from the contemporary history of the late 1800s and early 1900s by Charles O’Brien and the commentary on that text by Nugent. Some readers will find the switches difficult to follow, but this reviewer did not. Delaney made sure within the first sentence, sometimes even the first word, to ensure that the reader knew he had moved from Charles O’Brien’s history to Nugent’s commentary and vice versa. Other voices are later introduced by Nugent to help explain the circumstances surrounding O’Brien’s life such as O’Brien’s mother, Joe Harney, and even April herself.

Delaney has written a novel which delves into the psyches of the various Irish and Anglo-Irish of the period. Their desire for nationhood and the love of the people for their land are a driving force within the story. And yet, he has made it all deeply personal by telling us of the story of Charles and April. In their relationship, we see Ireland reflected.

The first two chapters spend a great deal of time on back story and setting, and readers may find it slow and difficult to read, as Delaney writes O’Brien using a Victorian style. Since O’Brien’s reminisces fill the majority of the first two chapters and the first part of the third, those unschooled in Victorian language may dislike the tone and voice. It is necessary to set the stage for the mystery that comes next, and the reader would be well advised to pay attention. In chapter three, more voices are introduced, and the plot twists and turns in such a way as to make a mystery that is both intriguing and beguiling.

Delaney is a master of the voice. Each of his characters is unique in the way they write, from O’Brien and his Victorian style, to Nugent and his historian’s need for accuracy. From the random and chaotic nature of April Burke’s letters, to the colloquial voice of Joe Harney, each character sees Ireland in a different light, and so illuminates an era of much personal and political turmoil. It is “a story of a passionate romance within an epic struggle for nationhood,” told in a variety of perspectives, but always realizing that history is always personal, and never objective.

I highly recommend Tipperary. It is storytelling as only the Irish can tell. ( )

This book got off to a slow start. It is beautifully written, but the plot fails to pull the reader in and the narrative is a bit confusing. I really loved "Ireland" another book by Delaney, but couldn't find the same enthusiasm for this book. Delaney's love for Ireland is clear, but unlike in his other book, it was harder to share that love with this book. ( )

I feel guilty for not reviewing this book sooner, because I got it through the Early Reviewer program. However, I just thought that the book was so awful. Even though I tried to get into it two different times, I just couldnt get through this book. I tried on two different times when I was in different moods and I couldnt get anywhere either time. It was confusing and pointless. I enjoy books with alternating narrators. But I had a hard time with the two narrators in this book because I didn't think that they had their own unique voice. They were hard to tell apart. I also get irritated when famous people just "pop in and out" of books. I just happened to be walking down the street and ran into Oscar Wilde. I guess the basics is just that the book didn't capture anything for me and I couldnt immerse myself into its pages.

However, it is important to note that I DIDNT finish this book. So maybe some of the issues that I had with it would have been solved by having made it to the end. I just couldnt force myself to finish it. ( )

Tipperary reads like a historical love poem to Ireland. The story is not the sort of historical fiction where history rides alongside the characters; it’s a tale where history itself IS the story. Unless you’ve strong knowledge of Irish history and its personalities, you’d better have reference sources ready. Several times I must admit to regressing to the dreadful Wikipedia search.

The protagonist, Charles O’Brien, is an early twentieth-century Irish Forrest Gump. A common man, with good manners and a kind heart, Charles wanders the historical steps of late 19th and early 20th centuries. His travels eventually land him in London, at the deathbed of Oscar Wilde, where he’s introduced to the love of his life. Celebrities and politicians, art and culture, history and war, all meander adjacent to Charles as he pines for his one true love.

Author Frank Delaney has an innate sense of what makes Irish folk tick. The celebrities, as well as the common folk, spring from the pages in their eccentricity and quirk. But with so many souls passing across the stage, character investment does take a bit of time.

Delaney also understands the importance of plot twists. Each twist can be seen as a separate stanza in the love poem to Ireland. Just when all is settled, much like real-life, a wrench comes flying on stage.

My one qualm is also the writer’s greatest treat. He uses alternating narrators, a difficult device for writers. I’m left wondering why the contemporary narrator waited to reveal his investment in the tale. Was this for dramatic emphasis in a dragging middle ground? Could we not have known his alignment to the story sooner, his quest for answers riding alongside as we read each passage from Charlie’s memoir? I honestly feel that holding the narrator’s introduction to the latter third of the story could have afforded an even grander climax. I saw no ‘special’ significance of his entering at the moment Delaney prescribed.

The long tale ends strong and poignant, if a bit contrived. We get to witness Charles O’Brien’s life to its happy end and Ireland’s hope of possibility. “Tipperary” is an enjoyable and enlightening read, especially for admirers of historical fiction or Ireland.

Review first published on Many A Quaint & Curious Volume
© Tasses 2007-2009 ( )

I got this book as part of the Early Reviewers program and was thrilled. I had read Delaney's earlier book about Ireland and had learned a lot. In both books, the author seems interested in the story-telling process itself. Tipperary was one of the more complex books of historical fiction I've read. The author tells his story with two alternating voices, a narrator contemporary to the events in the book and a more modern narrator who is looking back into Irish history. Both narrators have personal interests in the events of the story, and at first it was a bit confusing. Once I became comfortable with the author's style, the stories came alive.
Good historical fiction is the telling of the stories of fascinating and powerful human beings whose lives and actions have powerful impacts on their times. Ultimately, this was a very satisfying read for those who are interested in the origins of the Irish Troubles and the human cost of that era. ( )

I've been a bit delinquent.

I received this book on August 6, 2007 as part of the Advance Reader's program through LibraryThing and read it soon thereafter, finishing it on 8/27/07.

Part of the deal with the Advance Reader's program is that, in return for a free copy of the book, you're supposed to review the book. It doesn't matter if it's a good review or not, you're just supposed to review it.

For some reason, I wasn't very motivated to review this one. I don't know if it was because I only read it out of obligation. I had requested it so I had to follow through on my part of the deal.

I don't know if it was because I wasn't thrilled with it. I don't know if it was because I felt obliged to be kind.

Just not sure.

But, I was in Explore, Aspen's local bookstore, the other day and I saw Tipperary displayed on the counter with the new releases. Checking with Amazon, I found that the book had been published 11/6/07.

So, here I am, writing this review. More as a clearing it off my to do list and assuaging my guilt than anything else.

Not such a great lead-in, huh? Not making you want to rush out and read it, am I?

Rightfully so, perhaps.

I'm fairly ambivalent about this book. I found it a bit difficult to get going. I often found the protagonist annoying.

Let me back up a bit. The book is a cross between historical fiction and a romance novel. It's a romance novel from a male perspective but a romance novel nonetheless. Set in Ireland during the turn of the century, the book unconvincingly entwines the simple, country-boy protagonist, Charles O'Brien, with many a famous individual.

The book is written as Charles' journals and for most of the narrative takes on the often stunted prose of an amateur diarist. Delany also resorts to the improbable artifice of the discovery of writings from O'Brien's mother when faced with the need to include a perspective other than Charles'.

Towards the end of the book, I did start to get interested in the resolution of the "mystery" involving our present day narrator. Not being very familiar with Irish history, I also found some redeeming educational features in O'Brien's story.

I didn't hate it but wouldn't recommend it except to someone with a particular interest in the author, the Irish people or the period.

I do understand that Delany's other book, Ireland, which I have not read, comes much more highly recommended. ( )

I was really excited to read this book--I love historical fiction, I love Ireland, I love love stories. BUT. I found this book very hard to get into. And I found it quite distracting, the frequent interruptions from the narrator. It was beautifully written prose, I just couldn't get attached to the characters at all and found it very hard to finish this book. Perhaps if it had been put together differently--the current story by itself as an introduction, then segueing into the past storyline, then wrapping up with the conclusion to the present line might have been a smoother read. This book never really pulls you into the story. ( )

I tried so hard to read this book. After months of trying, I gave up about a quarter of the way through. The language was lovely, but I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters.

I was half way through this novel until I began to be involved in it. The first half of the book was confusing with the different narrators. I do not understand even now, after finishing the book, why the first part of the book is even there. Delaney hits his stride in the second half. The narration is clearer, the drama is there, and finally the purpose of the novel becomes clear.

I enjoyed the conflict between Charles and April, the Irish history and the engagement of the characters in the book, the restoration of the castle. All parts were fascinating, but none of these parts were in the first half.

After having too many historical characters introduced in the first half of the novel, I began to wonder if this was an Irish Forrest Gump. But the name-dropping returned to a reasonable level in the last half.

It's difficult to recommend a book that I did not like until over 100 pages were read. But the last half is so compelling that I would recommend it with the above warnings. ( )

I am not a huge fan of Irish history, but Delaney writes in such a way that makes it interesting. You really get a feel for the land and why the Irish guard it with their lives.

The main characters were slow to develop and I felt that in the end they fell flat. Some characters, like Charles' father were important at the beginning and then fall off the radar. You're never quite sure what has happened.

Overall, a lovely novel of Ireland. ( )

"Be careful about me. Be careful about my country and my people and how we tell our history."

I have a fairly well-established love for unreliable narrators, and for Irish literature.

That said, I usually prefer that my unreliable narrators not telegraph themselves *quite* so blatantly on the first page. It works here, but only just barely.

It took most of 75 pages for me to really get into the story, but once I did things hummed along nicely until nearly the very end. The characters were complicated and real, the settings were gorgeous, the events themselves were slipped into a broader historical narrative.

That said, this was one of the few times that a sudden twist at the end really didn't work for me. It's odd that something could be both telegraphed so early and seem so entirely unrelated to the main force of the story, the narrative that was actually interesting and unique.

Slow beginning, strong middle, disappointing plot twist at the end. I've recommended it to a few people, but am on the fence about rereading it myself. ( )

It's been a long time since I couldn't finish a book. But less than 100 pages into this one, I gave up -- it's dull, the narrative structure is really clunky, and I just don't care. I love Ireland, I love complex narrative, I like love stories and historical fiction -- but tedium is not my thing. ( )

I was fortunate enough to get an advance reader's edition copy of this book within a couple weeks prior of my first trip to Ireland. It was just to Dublin, but still -- it gave me a better understanding of the country I was reading about.

I wasn't unimpressed, per se, but I did often drift while reading this. My eyes would wander towards another book in my stack I was reading and my thoughts would turn outward away from the story. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly captivating, either. And while breaking the "fourth wall" in a story of any sort can be a valuable literary tool, doing so constantly with all of the historical context interludes by an additional narrator (even if the interludes are fiction, too) is distracting. The dual narrator setup used to tell a story that, while interesting, isn't really engrossing made me have to read this thing in installments instead of enthrallment.

Remember back to your grade school days when the class would read passages aloud, then stop for the teacher to rant/explicate/elaborate? Imagine having that same experience actually in print, on the page, through the entire book. And there you have "Tipperary."

Ultimately, despite my interest in Ireland and its literature, I had to give up on it. ( )

The beginning of the book was a bit boring and the present-day narrator felt intrusive. I didn't care much for Charles either. He came across as a bit pathetic, chasing after a mostly unlikeable woman who wasn't the least bit interested in him. However, about a quarter of the way into the book, things began to improve. The history became more interesting, more was revealed about the present-day narrator, and Charles developed a backbone (and a personality). By the time I reached the end, I'd learned quite a bit about Ireland's history, I liked almost all of the characters, and I'd decided that I liked the book, too. It was worthing wading through the boring bits at the beginning. ( )

Many thanks to Random House and LibraryThing for the opportunity to review an Advance Reader's Edition of Tipperary, by Frank Delaney.

Delaney is a marvelous writer, and his descriptions of the Irish countryside and Tipperary Castle are wonderfully alive. As he details the years-long work of restoring the old castle to its original beauty, I felt I was in the rooms, observing those who worked with great skill, care, and true enjoyment, to restore the structure to brilliance.

Delaney's portraits of some of the novel's human characters are less complete and dazzling than of Tipperary Castle, and I believe the book suffers a bit for it, overall. I did like Charles O'Brien from the start, though his obvious intelligence seemed at odds with that streak of innocence and naivete - perhaps the best example of that being his actions after meeting Parnell. But Charles is a good and honorable man, and an interesting narrator.

In April Burke's early scenes, I admire her strength and spunk, even as she is rejecting Charles's affections. Given the situation - declarations of "love at first sight" from a man more than twice her age, a "healer" who hadn't been able to cure her new acquaintance, Oscar Wilde - her feelings are completely understandable. As she begins to pursue the rights to the castle, she does seem "icy," as Charles's mother says, and she seems to take advantage of Charles's good nature and affections. Finally, it is her own devotion to the castle, and her willingness to toil and get dirty with the rest of the workers, that makes me truly like her.

For me, the whole book became more interesting with the introduction of Joe Harney, who becomes Charles's closest friend, and then April's as well. His narration is always honest and lively, and also serves the function of showing a fuller and more objective view of Charles. Harney tells us things that Charles doesn't know or won't speak about, and gives another perspective of Charles and April's relationship.

The modern-day narrator was actually the least engaging character. His narratives helped to explain the historical events of Charles and April's era, which was very beneficial for me, as I was unfamiliar with the events depicted. Once he introduced himself at the start of chapter four, I started to get a sense of him as a character, rather than simply a voice in the present explaining events of the past; however, his own story didn't hold me as that of Charles, April, and Harney did.

Along with the restoration of the castle, the Irish war for independence from Britain is the other "sustained narrative" where Delaney excels. The fights are gripping, and the danger palpable; I feared for Harney's life! What little I have heard of the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Fein had given me a negative impression of them, yet seeing the Irish desire for independence from Britain in the novel, I sympathized with them. I'm not a great fan of history, but I appreciate those historical novels that make me want to learn more about the real events behind them.

Perhaps Tipperary would be a stronger novel without the modern-day narrator; I believe I would have enjoyed the story of long ago just as much without him in the book. But, now that I know him, perhaps I'd like him better if I had time to reread the book. I appreciate Delaney's way of telling stories through different characters, to give the reader a more complete view. Perhaps his next novel could be leaner, shorter, and a bit more focused, but with the same fine writing and fondness for storytelling he exhibits here - the ingredients for a true page-turner. ( )

I really tried to like this book, but it just didn't happen. From the first page nothing grabbed me. It was a chore to read. I can usually read w/ background noise, but not so with this book. I had to have complete quiet to read it. I kept having to re-read pages. The narrative with it goes from Charles O'Briens story to the current day narrator was totally confusing. I couldn't tell who was speaking until I read it for a while. I didn't like the main character--he was dull, boring, naive and sometimes totally stupid. I got about 3/4 through the book and just couldn't continue any further. It's a shame as I heard Frank Delaney's previous novel was excellent. I guess I expected the same with this one. I would like to thank Library Thing and Random House for the opportunity to read this book. I still love you Random House--just unfortunately not this book! ( )

Tipperary is the story of Charles O'Brien, a fictional character and his experiences in a dynamic period of Irish history, incorporating actual people and situations into the fabric of the narrative. While I found it to be an interesting premise, learning a little about Ireland, I found the main character unappealing. He seems very one dimensional and bland, considering the drama that surrounded him, unbelievably naive and passive, although stronger character traits emerge very late in the book. I also found the method of telling the story through excerpts from Charles' journal, commentary from an unknown (who is revealed in the latter part of the book), as well as letters and journal excerpts from other characters to be distracting and disjointed. I would start to get pulled into the story only to be interrupted by a different, often unidentified voice. Overall I felt the book never lived up to it's potential. ( )

Warning: MAJOR SPOILER
Review refers to Advanced Review Copy

Delaney is a good story teller and a pretty good writer. But this book was frustrating for me to read. I do hope in the final edition, they find a way to identify who the narrator is (section headings? italics?); it felt like a lot of work to figure out who was speaking and took away from the flow.

I liked the character development, of Charles, April and Harney particularly. And the historical background of Ireland's struggle for home rule was very interesting. But the wild coincidence of the present day narrator being the son of the two main characters was just too much for me. Charles also "just happened" to meet up with a lot of prominent people - Oscar Wilde, Michael Collins, Parnell, Yeats. I wonder if Delaney could have woven in some of their histories without them entering into O'Brien's life. Again, it seemed like just too much coincidence.

Paralleling the resurrection of Tipperary Castle with the growth of Charles and eventually April was a good device. The castle became another character in the novel, with its growing pains and maturity, its growth and eventual death, its enemies and caretakers. I think I was rooting for the castle more than any of the characters.

Adequate read for historical fiction. Not one I'd want to re-read, and would moderately recommend to a lover of historical fiction, particularly Irish history. ( )