Sweet Liberty
Travels in Irish America
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- £6.99
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
Joseph O'Connor's love affair with all things American led to an extraordinary tour of the United States to visit the nine different towns called Dublin, as well as some of the great cities and tiny hamlets in between. Along the way he wittily deconstructs the legends of a whole pantheon of Irish American heroes, from John F. Kennedy to Billy the Kid, and takes a quick detour to finally answer that most important question: was Elvis really Irish?
The result is a hilarious, poignant and unforgettable book that celebrates the breathtaking diversity of the Irish influence on America and actually manages to find a town called Dublin, somewhere on the planet, that doesn't have one single pub within its limits...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
O'Connor, who was born in Dublin, set out to write a book on the U.S. based on the nine towns in America named Dublin. Arriving from Ireland, he lands in Boston, where he sees his first pornographic movie, is awed by the Boston accent, which reminds him of sheep talking, and suffers tremendous hangovers. In Dublin, N.H., he finds disappointment, as the town "was so small it was almost portable." Then a side trip to New York City, where he admires drag queens in Greenwich Village, incorrectly describes the Brooklyn Bridge as towering over the Hudson and observes that "New Yorkers are basically children." His condescending attitude continues as he visits Dublins in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Texas and California. The author, the brother of Irish pop icon Sinead O'Connor, seems only to enjoy himself on a side trip to Nashville, where he enthusiastically worships at the shrine of Elvis and contemplates the connection between the Everly Brothers and the poetry of William Butler Yeats. A travelogue for the hip who won't be upset with snide comments passing as humor and insight.
