A review by eeriemusick
There are Little Kingdoms by Kevin Barry
3.0
I was originally assigned some stories from this collection for a Contemporary Irish Literature class my final term of undergrad, and I'm sad to say I JUST got around to actually reading them (and the others in the collection).
I definitely enjoyed the collection as a whole, and it opened me up to the world of Irish literature that I was previously not involved in, but there were a few stories that left me feeling a little dirty - something I hope was the intent of Kevin Barry.
A lot of the stories did a great job exploring the grit in contemporary Ireland and exposing the hyper masculinity that seems to be alive in the culture, but there were a couple stories ("See The Tree, How Big It's Grown" in particular) that seemed to want you to feel bad for the main character even after Barry lists some nonredeemable qualities.
I did love the detail and insane characters we meet through out the book, as well as the fantastical events that take place, sometimes turning Ireland into a magical realm. I plan on hopefully rereading in the future!
I went into some deeper thoughts on the blog.
https://musickcity.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/exploring-little-kingdoms/
I definitely enjoyed the collection as a whole, and it opened me up to the world of Irish literature that I was previously not involved in, but there were a few stories that left me feeling a little dirty - something I hope was the intent of Kevin Barry.
A lot of the stories did a great job exploring the grit in contemporary Ireland and exposing the hyper masculinity that seems to be alive in the culture, but there were a couple stories ("See The Tree, How Big It's Grown" in particular) that seemed to want you to feel bad for the main character even after Barry lists some nonredeemable qualities.
I did love the detail and insane characters we meet through out the book, as well as the fantastical events that take place, sometimes turning Ireland into a magical realm. I plan on hopefully rereading in the future!
I went into some deeper thoughts on the blog.
https://musickcity.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/exploring-little-kingdoms/