Call number
FIC TAY
Collection
Genres
Series
Publication
Forge Books (2011), Edition: Reprint, 320 pages
Description
Presents the story of the early life of Kinky Kincaid, once known as Maureen O'Hanlon, a farmer's daughter growing up in the hills and glens of 1920s County Cork, Ireland, who had a gift for seeing faries, spirits, and the dreaded banshee.
User reviews
LibraryThing member writestuff
Kinky Kincaid has lived in the northern Irish village of Ballybucklebo for more than 40 years, working as a housekeeper for two harried doctors. Readers of Patrick Taylor's Irish Country series know little about her childhood and where she grew up ... until now. Kinky reminisces about when she was
An Irish Country Girl is not just a coming of age story, but a look deep beneath the lore and magic of Ireland. The novel centers around the belief in fairies, spirits and the mystical Banshee whose eerie wail on a snowy night foretells of a death. Blessed with "the sight" (passed down from her mother), the young Maureen wants to understand her future. She is a dreamer, a determined girl who wants an education to become a teacher as well as a romantic match with the man she grows to love.
Patrick Taylor brings to life a small farming community and its eccentric people, and reveals the life of a young girl growing up in the 1920s in Ireland. Readers unable to stretch their imaginations may find it difficult to fully immerse themselves in this realm of magical realism. But, I found the novel a fun and entertaining read. Taylor's narrative strength is in telling the story through his characters' eyes. At times I felt as though I was sitting rapt in front of a gifted Irish storyteller, waiting for the expected ending to a tale of intrigue.
Taylor has written a light, engrossing novel about storytellers, magic, and Irish lore. He describes the Irish countryside with its rolling green hills and dales, its flocks of sheep, and the unexpected and sudden shifts in weather; then inserts his quirky characters and the "little people" who populate the spaces beneath the blackthorn trees, thereby creating a story which entertains and delights the imagination.
If you have not yet read Taylor's previous books in the series, no worries. This novel can stand on its own. Taylor even includes a helpful glossary of Irish terms and phrases, as well as some of Kinky Kincaid's fabulous recipes at the end of the book.
Recommended to those readers interested in Irish lore and magic, as well as readers who enjoy novels of small town life.
Show More
a young girl named Maureen O'Hanlon - first telling the neighborhood children about the Saint Stephen's Day ghost's initial appearance in the southern county of Cork; and later (as she makes Christmas dinner for the doctors) Kinky recalls her memories of the years growing up from a child into womanhood in that same county.An Irish Country Girl is not just a coming of age story, but a look deep beneath the lore and magic of Ireland. The novel centers around the belief in fairies, spirits and the mystical Banshee whose eerie wail on a snowy night foretells of a death. Blessed with "the sight" (passed down from her mother), the young Maureen wants to understand her future. She is a dreamer, a determined girl who wants an education to become a teacher as well as a romantic match with the man she grows to love.
Patrick Taylor brings to life a small farming community and its eccentric people, and reveals the life of a young girl growing up in the 1920s in Ireland. Readers unable to stretch their imaginations may find it difficult to fully immerse themselves in this realm of magical realism. But, I found the novel a fun and entertaining read. Taylor's narrative strength is in telling the story through his characters' eyes. At times I felt as though I was sitting rapt in front of a gifted Irish storyteller, waiting for the expected ending to a tale of intrigue.
Taylor has written a light, engrossing novel about storytellers, magic, and Irish lore. He describes the Irish countryside with its rolling green hills and dales, its flocks of sheep, and the unexpected and sudden shifts in weather; then inserts his quirky characters and the "little people" who populate the spaces beneath the blackthorn trees, thereby creating a story which entertains and delights the imagination.
If you have not yet read Taylor's previous books in the series, no worries. This novel can stand on its own. Taylor even includes a helpful glossary of Irish terms and phrases, as well as some of Kinky Kincaid's fabulous recipes at the end of the book.
Recommended to those readers interested in Irish lore and magic, as well as readers who enjoy novels of small town life.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Lesliejaneite
So this was very different than the other Irish Country books I've read. It is told from Kinky Kincaid's perspective and details her youth and how she became "fey". (Psychic) It's a cozy trip into Irish folklore of which I heretofore knew nothing. It also includes some mouth watering details about
Show More
her cooking which always make me wander into the kitchen wondering if I have any of the ingredients on hand to make something like she describes. Anyway, it's sweet, and nice but the good doctors literally just walk in the door at the last minute and don't even say a word I guess. I believe it's an important part of my Patrick Taylor collection. Oh, yes, I'm collecting, the covers are quite lovely. They look so nice in my library Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The fourth entry in his Irish Country series, An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor is a little different from the first three. Usually set in the 1960’s, in this volume we step even further back in time to the 1920’s and learn of the girlhood of Maureen Kincaid, housekeeper to the doctors of
On a blustery Christmas day, Mrs. Kincaid invites the children carollers in and tells them a tale of her own young days. At fourteen, she was a farmer’s daughter living in County Cork, and beginning to build dreams for herself. One Christmas she learns that she is developing ‘the sight’ when she has a visitation from the Banshee and is given advance warning about the death of a young neighbour, a young man who was walking out with her sister, and who laughed at the warnings not to cross the dark fairies. After the carollers leave for their own homes, she remembers more about her past, how she met, married, and became the young widow of Paudeen Kincaid.
Told with his usual charm and verbosity, this book explores the mythology of Ireland, the dark fairies, the banshee, even touching up the selkies. Weaving through this tale of magic is the story of a young girl coming to age and taking her first steps to independence. I enjoyed this walk down memory lane, but look forward to getting back to the regular characters and events in the village of Ballybucklebo This series would fall under the category of lighter reading, but I do have to say, I found this entry almost a little too light for my taste.
Show More
Ballybucklebo. On a blustery Christmas day, Mrs. Kincaid invites the children carollers in and tells them a tale of her own young days. At fourteen, she was a farmer’s daughter living in County Cork, and beginning to build dreams for herself. One Christmas she learns that she is developing ‘the sight’ when she has a visitation from the Banshee and is given advance warning about the death of a young neighbour, a young man who was walking out with her sister, and who laughed at the warnings not to cross the dark fairies. After the carollers leave for their own homes, she remembers more about her past, how she met, married, and became the young widow of Paudeen Kincaid.
Told with his usual charm and verbosity, this book explores the mythology of Ireland, the dark fairies, the banshee, even touching up the selkies. Weaving through this tale of magic is the story of a young girl coming to age and taking her first steps to independence. I enjoyed this walk down memory lane, but look forward to getting back to the regular characters and events in the village of Ballybucklebo This series would fall under the category of lighter reading, but I do have to say, I found this entry almost a little too light for my taste.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sriemann
While I really enjoyed the details of Irish myths and bits of Irish history, the story wasn't as strong for the last half as Taylor's other works.
LibraryThing member Georgiann
This is a story about a girl a farmers daughter growing up in the emerald hills and glens of county cork. she has a head full of dreams , a heart open to romance and something more a gift for seeing beyond the ordinary. into the mistic world of fairies, spirts, and even the dreaded Banshee, as she
Show More
grows into a young women she finds herself torn between love and her fondest aspirations. an interesting and very enjoyable coming of age story. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
I consider myself a Canadian by birth and history but I think my soul is Irish. Many generations have passed since my forebears left Ireland but somehow the country is in my blood. That's why I like these books by Patrick Taylor that are firmly set in an Ireland of some years ago.
In this book we
Taylor manages to put a lot of Irish history and folklore into this tale which made it even more interesting to me. There are also recipes for traditional Irish dishes because Kinky is a great cook. This was a perfect book to read at this time of year because Kinky reminisces about her early life while preparing Christmas dinner for her doctors. I could almost smell the turkey roasting and the brussel sprouts steaming.
In this book we
Show More
learn the history of Mrs. Kincaid, the woman who cooks and cleans and looks after the doctors of Ballybucklebro. Although Kinky, as she is affectionately called, has been living in Northern Ireland for most of her adult life she comes from County Cork in the Republic of Ireland. Kinky has "the sight" and has been known to warn people about dangers before they happen. As we learn in this book, Kinky's mother also had the sight. In 1922 Kinky's mother warned their neighbour Connor MacTaggart not to cut down a blackthorn tree because it was the home of the Shee, the fairies of Ireland. Connor went ahead and did so and he was plagued by troubles thereafter. Connor died in a blizzard on St. Stephen's Day (the day after Christmas) a few months after he cut down the tree. This was a defining moment for Maureen O'Hanlon who was later to become Kinky.Taylor manages to put a lot of Irish history and folklore into this tale which made it even more interesting to me. There are also recipes for traditional Irish dishes because Kinky is a great cook. This was a perfect book to read at this time of year because Kinky reminisces about her early life while preparing Christmas dinner for her doctors. I could almost smell the turkey roasting and the brussel sprouts steaming.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Diana_Long_Thomas
This book in the Irish Country series focuses on the life of Maureen "Kinky" Kincaid the woman of all work for Doctor O'Reilly. It shows more of how some of the Irish still believe in the Sidhe, and those who feel that the paranormal touch them, so it has a bit of a supernatural bent. Kinky was
Show More
originally from a farming family in what is now The Republic of Ireland, she was a girl who wanted more than what most girls could have in the '20's. She wanted a family and a profession, in a time where married women didn't work often. Kinky learns that sometimes dreams and wants change both for the good and the bad. It shows how what she went through in her girlhood made her the strong-willed woman she became. If you want to read about a strong female character Kinky Kincaid would definitely be a great role model. Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
This book wasn't at all what I thought it would be -- I assumed we'd be hearing about Kinky's doomed romance and marriage -- and it was there, but that was by far not the focus. Brilliantly framed in an extended storytelling session that leads to memories on memories from Kinky's youth in County
Show More
Cork -- I thought it was dreamy and well told. Love the accents, as per usual, though these are a little different. Show Less
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Digital audiobook performed by Terry Donnelly
On Christmas Eve, Mrs Kinky Kincaid, Dr O’Reilly’s unflappable housekeeper, welcomes a group of young carolers into the doctor’s house to warm up. While they enjoy a hot drink and mince pies, Mrs Kincaid tells them a tale of her girlhood. Thus,
Kinky (nee Maureen O’Hanlon) is a marvelous character and her “sight” has been noted in previous books. This story shines the spotlight on Kinky and how she came to find her gift. It’s full of Irish mythology, the warmth of family and the dreams of young love. Taylor has written a very atmospheric book. I could practically feel the cold of a snowy day, smell the smoke of a welcoming fire, and hear the banshee’s wails or the eerie sounds of bagpipes.
Terry Donnelly does a marvelous job of performing the audiobook. I was glad to hear the Irish words properly pronounced, for even with the glossary at the back of the book, I would NOT have been hearing them correctly in my head were I reading the text.
On Christmas Eve, Mrs Kinky Kincaid, Dr O’Reilly’s unflappable housekeeper, welcomes a group of young carolers into the doctor’s house to warm up. While they enjoy a hot drink and mince pies, Mrs Kincaid tells them a tale of her girlhood. Thus,
Show More
this book is a bit of a departure from the series. Rather than deal with the residents of Ballybucklebo in Northern Ireland, during the mid-1960s, this book is set in County Cork in 1920, when Maureen O’Hanlon sees the St Stephen’s day ghost not once but twice. Kinky (nee Maureen O’Hanlon) is a marvelous character and her “sight” has been noted in previous books. This story shines the spotlight on Kinky and how she came to find her gift. It’s full of Irish mythology, the warmth of family and the dreams of young love. Taylor has written a very atmospheric book. I could practically feel the cold of a snowy day, smell the smoke of a welcoming fire, and hear the banshee’s wails or the eerie sounds of bagpipes.
Terry Donnelly does a marvelous job of performing the audiobook. I was glad to hear the Irish words properly pronounced, for even with the glossary at the back of the book, I would NOT have been hearing them correctly in my head were I reading the text.
Show Less
Pages
320
ISBN
9780765320735