Patrick Kavanagh (1) (1904–1967)

Set in County Cavan during the 1930s, the eponymous character is a twentysomething farmer trapped on a small holding and dreaming of what the world beyond the boundaries of his poor rural parish is like. Patrick Kavanagh is best known for his poetry, and in his descriptive passages here he can find beauty in the most humble drill of potatoes. The dialogue is also pitch-perfect for its time and place.

But, and it's a big but, despite the vivid beauty of the prose, I finished this book feeling show more like I wanted a shower. We're clearly supposed to sympathise with Tarry as a flawed but sympathetic protagonist (and one who is in many ways an aspect of the author himself), and to root for him to break free of life on the farm. But I couldn't do that. Not only is Tarry a misogynist, but depending on how you interpret references to certain events which take place off-screen, he is at best a sexual harasser and at worst a rapist. Kavanagh seems to instinctively understand how masculinity can be a straitjacket for men, but not to care about what that means for women. Spending too much time in Tarry's head left me feeling like I'd been in contact with, well, a tar pit. show less

A work of fiction by the Monaghan poet, but rooted in his own
upbringing. Tarry is stuck in a parish in Cavan, on a small farm
with his mother and three sisters. Its an extremely funny book,
as Tarry gets into endless squabbles with his neighbours and
annoys the parish priest at every opportunity. He's also trying
to impress the daughter of the local schoolteacher but
spends a lot of his time trying to avoid the pleasures available
from some of the other local caílin. At the same time, Tarry
finds show more beauty in the 'stony soil' and there's some wonderfully
evocative descriptions, as you'd expect from a master poet.
I loved the dialogue in this as well, full of witticisms and
country truths and wisdom. Was sad when I finished this,
could have done with another few hundred pages of the same.
Will be putting Kavanagh's other work, 'The green fool', on
my reading list. show less

Kavanagh's early work dig a sharpened poetic shovel into the rotten belly of the Church and the colonial powers of England, and is some of Irlenad's best modern poetry. The bulk of his later poems are highly reflective, and sometimes even humorous. A few of the later poems stand out, but many are rather forgettable. Still, this doesn't diminish Kavanagh's well deserved reputation as a master poetic stylist.

I didn't enjoy this book. While it was evocative of rural life in 1930s Ireland, I found I couldn't develop any strong feelings for any of the characters.