A Very Irish Christmas: The Greatest Irish Holiday Stories of All Time
by James Joyce (Contributor) 
A Very Christmas
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The sixth volume in our popular Very Christmas series, this collection transports readers to the Emerald Isle with stories and poems sure to bring holiday cheer. This anthology is packed with beloved classics, forgotten treasures, and modern masterpieces. You'll find wondrous works by James Joyce, W. B. Yeats, Elizabeth Bowen, Anne Enright, William Trevor, Colm Tóibín, Bernard MacLaverty and many more. See how Christmas is done in snowy Dublin and on the mean streets of Belfast, from west show more coast to east, and even across sea and ocean to Irish communities in London and New York City. Put a flickering candle in the window and a steaming dinner on the table, and celebrate the Irish way-Nollaig Shona Daoibh-and Merry Christmas!. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
‘’ “But me,” was all that she said, and rubbed a dear space in the condensation on the glass as she tried to recompose in her head the dissonant notes that rose at intervals from the huddle of young carol singers in the darkness below.’’
Shopping for Christmas Dinner - Anne Enright: The marathon (and torture) of Christmas shopping in the supermarket, depicted with elegant irony and tenderness.
Frank Forrest’s Mince Pie - Canon Patrick Augustine Sheehan: A tender tale of kindness and Christmas dreams.
Whimsical Beasts - Aisling Maguire: A whimsical, tragic, incredibly beautiful story of a Pygmalion gone twisted and a young woman who wanted a child. A sensual, artistic modern fable.
The Christmas Cuckoo - Frances Browne: A story show more that has all the quintessential elements of an Irish folk tale. Cobblers, princesses, kings and golden leaves.
Christmas Pudding - Colm Toibin: A humorous story of Christmas pudding and family gatherings.
The Magi - W.B.Yeats: What would the Magi have thought if they had witnessed the horror that took place in Cavalry?
Candle and Crib - K.F.Purdon: Errr…This was not my cup of tea. Tasteless, vulgar and quite ridiculous.
The Troubles at Christmas (From Cal) - Bernard MacLaverty: A haunting extract from his excellent novel, Cal, one of the finest depictions of the Troubles.
Men and Women - Claire Keegan: I am sorry but Keegan’s writing doesn’t suit my reading tastes. Frankly? I find it atrocious.
‘’You never played games’’, he said, ‘’or believed in fairies, or anything. I’d have played any game your way; I’d have been good at them.’’
The Tommy Cranes - Elizabeth Bowen: A moving tale of young love, misfortune and obligations.
‘’You always looked back, she thought. You looked back at other years, other Christmas cars arriving, the children younger.’’
Another Christmas - William Trevor: A bitter tale set during the time of the Troubles about the wounds of the terrible fight which even Christmas cannot heal.
Christmas Eve - Máire Mhac an tSaoi: A beautiful poem about the night when Christ was born.
The Dead - James Joyce: Taken from The Dubliners, this is one of the most well-known storied by Joyce. Gabriel, a teacher and book reviewer, finds himself facing questions of Life and Death, of memories and what it means to ‘’serve the Irish cause.’’
‘’Frost continued to fall that night in greater profusion than it had before, and a greenish vapour pervaded every quarter of the city, merging with the scant light that showed through shutters and hallways. No traffic broke the quiet but, lining the streets, on doorsteps and on windowsills, stood a myriad of minute golden creatures, each one astir with the playful flicker of new life.’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less
Shopping for Christmas Dinner - Anne Enright: The marathon (and torture) of Christmas shopping in the supermarket, depicted with elegant irony and tenderness.
Frank Forrest’s Mince Pie - Canon Patrick Augustine Sheehan: A tender tale of kindness and Christmas dreams.
Whimsical Beasts - Aisling Maguire: A whimsical, tragic, incredibly beautiful story of a Pygmalion gone twisted and a young woman who wanted a child. A sensual, artistic modern fable.
The Christmas Cuckoo - Frances Browne: A story show more that has all the quintessential elements of an Irish folk tale. Cobblers, princesses, kings and golden leaves.
Christmas Pudding - Colm Toibin: A humorous story of Christmas pudding and family gatherings.
The Magi - W.B.Yeats: What would the Magi have thought if they had witnessed the horror that took place in Cavalry?
Candle and Crib - K.F.Purdon: Errr…This was not my cup of tea. Tasteless, vulgar and quite ridiculous.
The Troubles at Christmas (From Cal) - Bernard MacLaverty: A haunting extract from his excellent novel, Cal, one of the finest depictions of the Troubles.
Men and Women - Claire Keegan: I am sorry but Keegan’s writing doesn’t suit my reading tastes. Frankly? I find it atrocious.
‘’You never played games’’, he said, ‘’or believed in fairies, or anything. I’d have played any game your way; I’d have been good at them.’’
The Tommy Cranes - Elizabeth Bowen: A moving tale of young love, misfortune and obligations.
‘’You always looked back, she thought. You looked back at other years, other Christmas cars arriving, the children younger.’’
Another Christmas - William Trevor: A bitter tale set during the time of the Troubles about the wounds of the terrible fight which even Christmas cannot heal.
Christmas Eve - Máire Mhac an tSaoi: A beautiful poem about the night when Christ was born.
The Dead - James Joyce: Taken from The Dubliners, this is one of the most well-known storied by Joyce. Gabriel, a teacher and book reviewer, finds himself facing questions of Life and Death, of memories and what it means to ‘’serve the Irish cause.’’
‘’Frost continued to fall that night in greater profusion than it had before, and a greenish vapour pervaded every quarter of the city, merging with the scant light that showed through shutters and hallways. No traffic broke the quiet but, lining the streets, on doorsteps and on windowsills, stood a myriad of minute golden creatures, each one astir with the playful flicker of new life.’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less
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James Joyce was born on February 2, 1882, in Dublin, Ireland, into a large Catholic family. Joyce was a very good pupil, studying poetics, languages, and philosophy at Clongowes Wood College, Belvedere College, and the Royal University in Dublin. Joyce taught school in Dalkey, Ireland, before marrying in 1904. Joyce lived in Zurich and Triest, show more teaching languages at Berlitz schools, and then settled in Paris in 1920 where he figured prominently in the Parisian literary scene, as witnessed by Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. Joyce's collection of fine short stories, Dubliners, was published in 1914, to critical acclaim. Joyce's major works include A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, and Stephen Hero. Ulysses, published in 1922, is considered one of the greatest English novels of the 20th century. The book simply chronicles one day in the fictional life of Leopold Bloom, but it introduces stream of consciousness as a literary method and broaches many subjects controversial to its day. As avant-garde as Ulysses was, Finnegans Wake is even more challenging to the reader as an important modernist work. Joyce died just two years after its publication, in 1941. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
James Joyce has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
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- A Very Irish Christmas: The Greatest Irish Holiday Stories of All Time
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