Midlands authors take trips down memory lane

A reader emailed me recently and observed that I don’t review books by Westmeath authors. But I've reviewed loads of books by Westmeath authors in this newspaper and others, including Nicole Flattery, Liza Costello, Patricia Gibney, Manchán Magan, Anne Griffin, John Broderick, Michael Harding...they're just the ones who immediately come to mind. Anyway, this week, I’m ‘keeping it local’ with books by authors from the midlands, including the northeast midlands.

The Wake of Yer Man, Yvonne Heavey, Sweet Impressions Publishing, €11.99

This short story anthology is wrought from the author’s childhood in the 1990s, growing up in Rochfortbridge and one of nine children. These are the days of pre-Tiger Ireland, the Ireland of Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, before the myriad church scandals, the internet, and before the American dollar rolled into town. And it’s like the dark ages rather than a mere thirty years ago. But the nuns here aren’t Claire Keegan’s nuns, as the author remembers the sisters of St Vincent De Paul as being kindly. There’s a family holiday spent in the exotic location of Bettystown, there’s a story set in a Mullingar bookie’s and, of course, there’s yer man’s wake from which the collection gets its title. It’s a fond stroll down memory lane.

The Making of Memories, Mick Duffy, Naas Printing, €15

Mick Duffy was the Communications Officer for Westmeath senior football team, during which time they won the Leinster Championship in 2004. The book follows Duffy’s fascination with the GAA from early childhood through to the present day. It is, to quote the author himself ‘an account of my family, working life and the ups and downs in my life in general. All the nuts and bolts are included, warts and all.’ It's another fond stroll down memory lane and the author’s memory is sharp as a tack. That said, I do feel this book would appeal primarily to GAA fans. It certainly gives the inside skinny on what it’s like to work as an official within the organisation.

The Irish Words You Should Know, Hector Ó hEochagáin, Gill, €22.99

The bould Hector from Navan has taken to book-writin’ and this is his first. It’s an introduction to a language barely anyone can speak, despite daily lessons right throughout our schooldays. How can that be? It’s an abiding mystery. Fourteen years of Irish, every single day, and the vast majority of us, yours truly included, haven’t a rasher’s. Anyway, Hector gently re-introduces the language to the likes of us. The format is interesting, he takes a word or a phrase and translates it into English. Then to accompany that word or phrase, he produces an essay or story or personal observation that’s relevant. This isn’t your usual gag-a-minute Hector (and let’s face it, there’s nothing funny about Irish!) but a more reflective version, although his style is very distinct. He writes exactly like he speaks and that alone is a unique selling point. This book didn’t persuade me to learn Irish, but I really was engaged.

The Early Life of Eileen J Garrett, Julie Coyle, JM Agency, €18

The book’s full title is The Early Life of Irish Psychic and Trance Medium, Eileen J Garrett, Fact of Fabrication? The author is herself a psychic and spiritual healer based in Oldcastle, Co Meath and here she examines the life of Garrett, who was a celebrated medium on the international circuit in her heyday. But she made stuff up about herself, most particularly about her childhood. This book reveals her very humble beginnings, not in London or Spain as she alleged, but in Beauparc, Navan. And those aren’t the only lies she told. Was she a genuine psychic or a fraudster? Coyle’s research for this book is staggering, and since Garrett spun her own daughter some fantastical tales about her family lineage, this author reckoned it was time to set the record straight. And she does.

How to Murder Your Dear Wife, Martin JP Devaney, Pegasus, €15.99

The murder-obsessed protagonist in this entertaining novel shares the same Christian name as the author. If I was this author’s wife I’d be worried, even if Athlone-based Devaney insists his wife is alive and well. (For now...) Anyway, Martin the drama teacher is intent on murdering his wife. Not because he hates her, although he doesn’t much like her, but because he’s broke. Their house is in negative equity, his salary can’t meet his commitments, and the only sensible solution is to kill Her Indoors and draw down the big bucks from the life insurance. Easy peasy. The hard part is working out how to get away with it. Although this is Devaney’s first novel, he’s written lots of plays and short stories and his experience shows. This book is imaginative, clever and extremely funny.

I Loved Him from the Day He Died, Michael Harding, Hachette, €16.99

This is a must-read for Harding fans (I’m one!) but also a must-read, in my opinion, for anyone who’s lost their father and still misses them. Harding can verbalise with clear elegance the feelings we all (‘we all’ being those of us without our fathers) have felt at the loss, a mix of memory and possibly regret for not saying things we should have said. Harding’s father was not a very communicative man and never spoke about his childhood, so finding out about where he came from held a particular fascination for the author, who’s originally from Cavan and now living in rural Leitrim. Where might you find your dead father? I wish I knew, but Harding finds his on the Camino in Spain. This beautifully wrought memoir traces Harding’s Camino journey from Mullingar train station right through to Santiago de Compostela, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is nourishment for the soul.

Footnotes

The Wicklow Yarn Storytelling Festival runs from this Friday, November 8 to 21 and is a community project that celebrates the art of storytelling. See mermaidartscentre.ie for details.

The Leaves Festival of Writing and Music is running until this coming Saturday, November 9, across various locations in Laois. See leavesfestival.ie for details.

The An Post Irish Book Awards shortlists are online and the public can vote until November 14. See irishbookawards.ie to register and vote.