Tipperary by Frank Delaney · 29 August 2007
Tipperary by Frank Delaney follows the life of Charles O’Brien, an Irishman born in 1860. The reader learns about Charles through the study of memoirs he wrote as an adult and the focus of the memoirs is often the story of his wooing of April Burke. Charles grows to be equally persistent wooing the rights to participate in the restoration of a local estate called Tipperary Castle.
When Charles starts his memoirs, he has already met April, and his early passages are full of the impact of their meeting. Unfortunately, April rejected him outright and instead of being a man happily engaged to his beloved, Charles is a man bereft of the one woman he truly wants.
Even if this was the only theme that the book addressed, it would be an interesting one. April is an enigmatic character and there is some mystery about her family tree. Watching Charles and April dance around each other as the mystery unfolded would have been a strong story by itself.
But Delaney has intertwined a different kind of love story with the story of Charles and April, the story of the Irish people’s love of their land. It’s the land from which all the dualities in the book stem. Delaney relates the Irish outlook and Irish lives to their relationship with the land, and subtly illustrates how all decisions and directions have some tie to the Irish love of land. One of the very early scenes clearly illustrates that there are “haves” and “have nots” and which category people belong to is defined by whether they own their own land or not.
This book includes a few things that are sure to add to my enjoyment of any book. First of all, Charles is a man who approaches his life with the goal of examining it. There isn’t an action that Charles takes that he does not give a reason for or ask a question about. Hearing Charles puzzle out his own thoughts and reactions to events added to the understanding of Charles’ life as pieced together from brief snapshots of his own writing.
The book meanders in a pleasant fashion as Charles narrates the events of his life. He is an engaging storyteller and due to his traveling lifestyle he has plenty of opportunity to add to his repertoire of interesting tales. I really enjoyed yet another aspect of the duality in this book in that each selection from Charles' memoir is commented on by the narrator of the novel. Because of this second voice, throughout the book we see not only how Charles would choose to portray himself, but how others saw him.
Delaney did an excellent job with the setup of this structure. The first section of Charles’ writing introduces the main concepts of the book: history, love and land. In the introduction to his memoirs Charles warns us not to trust him as a narrator, because he speaks of history and of love and no true Irish person can refrain from embellishing the story for the sake of a story, especially when love is involved. Delaney then jumps immediately to commentary by the other narrator, who says that he has discovered Charles’ manuscript but remains unidentified.
The placement and lack of identification clearly cues the reader to question both narrators’ objectivity and commitment to the literal facts and to wonder as their interpretations play off each other, whose version is the truth. There’s a demand placed on the reader, which engages you immediately in the story. Should the reader believe Charles, who is so up front and amiable about his modifications of the story for the story’s sake, or should they believe the narrator, whose dry commentary and historical perspective seem disinterested, but who refuses to identify himself?
One final high point of the story was Delaney’s inclusion of the great Irish literary figures of the time. Oscar Wilde and W.B. Yeats made personal appearances, and others were spoken about. I love books that raise my awareness of other works and authors, and so this was a welcome inclusion.
I received an Advance Reader’s Edition of Tipperary through Library Thing’s Early Reviewers program and so I can’t quote some of the truly beautiful writing in this book. Delaney captures the essence of mystery and practicality that is my image of Ireland and the Irish people in his descriptions of the land. He paints beautiful character studies by creating a unique voice for each actor in the drama of the novel.
When reading passages written by Charles, one empathizes with his hopes and frustrations. When one reads a passage written about the same events by the narrator or other sources, Delaney makes their voice ring true as well, so that all sides of the interpretation of events are credible and full of depth.
Tipperary is a slow and steady examination of one life and the impact that being true to love and beauty can have on the lives of so many others around him. I read it slowly and steadily and was rewarded with the sense that my patient persistence with the story enabled me to take a bit of the magic that Delaney created into my own life.
Other reviews:
Ex Libris also recently reviewed the book and found the narrative shifts distracting rather than illuminating.
Grasping for the Wind acknowledged the book started slowly and picked up at the end, rating it 5/5.
RabbitReader knows far more about Ireland and Irish authors than I do and took issue with some of the historical liberties that Delaney took.
Random Wonder coined the phrase that resonated with me more than any other I read about this book, “Tipperary reads like a historical love poem to Ireland.” Beautiful thought.
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jean pierre · 30 August 2007, 06:56
you know, i would never have picked this book up, but your review makes it sound very interesting! the way charles examines liife and hir relationship with april sounds very cool.
John (Graping for the Wind) · 12 September 2007, 11:51
Thanks for the link-up. You have a great review here. Delaney is just so in love with Ireland, and that flows through excellently. It has its problems, and maybe wraps a little quickly, but was still very fun to read.
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