Yesterday was a happy writing day.
Robert Dunbar in the Irish Times had this to say about the Sleeping Baobab Tree …
Finally, with Paula Leyden’s The Sleeping Baobab Tree , we travel to Zambia for a mind-opening novel featuring twin sisters, the boy next door and his formidable greatgrandmother: a car journey involving all four provides a wonderfully sustained piece of comic writing in a novel that nevertheless engages with serious contemporary themes.
But as for the “best”? My Honour Award for fiction would go to the Paula Leyden title, which, as some duplication is allowed, would also carry off the book-of-the-year award.
Now. I know this is one person’s opinion – and as I said in a previous post, the shortlist is a strong one and I am a newbie so my expectations are low – but I am thrilled to be on the list and his comments warmed my heart. I especially loved that he was amused by the book ..Thank you Robert!
Then, a review of Tom O’Neill’s book (Tom is my partner) Fionn and the Legends of the Blood Emeralds by Mary Esther Judy of Fallen Star Stories
FIONN AND THE LEGEND OF THE BLOOD EMERALDS
author: Tom O’Neill
HeroicRealm.com (2013)
ISBN: 9781909483279
Dark McLeans’ Uncle Connie has been struck down by a mysterious illness: an illness of alarmingly rapid progress with no obvious cause or treatment; an illness that is killing him. Dark is now in a race against time to find a cure. Their sinister neighbour is shadowing Darks’ every move, his friends are abandoning him and Dark is losing hope and courage. Each night, Dark ventures into a nearby fairy ring in desperation. Perhaps the Old People know of a cure. Each night, Dark is told a tale….. a tale of a young man called Matha who, long ago, was on a similar quest to his own; a tale of Fionn MacCumhaill and ancient journeys, of bards and battles and a magical land. As time is running out for Uncle Connie, Dark begins to understand the true meaning behind his uncles’ words: “They walk among us.”
Tom O’Neills’ previous book, “Old Friends: The Lost Tales of Fionn MacCumhaill” was thoroughly gripping.
This one is even more. This one is simply spell-binding, packed with lyrical story-telling, raw and complex emotional impact and evocative characters and setting. The flow of the contemporary story into the mythical is smooth, and the correlations drawn between the two stories create an ebb and flow that pulls the reader into the tale. Each chapter is genuine, believable and intriguing. The power behind the words is tangible and will keep you awake well into the night reading on…. and casting your vision out into the night wondering what is actually going on out there in the trees and hills. A wondrous adventure that blurs the lines between reality and mythology. Just loved it!
I don’t often re-post things in their entirety but want to post this – as I think it says such a lot about writing and it says it so elegantly. It comes from Tom O’Neill’s blog on his book Old Friends – take a look
An author has to keep an eye on the reader as the storyteller always did, just with the disadvantage of being a step removed.
You have to keep an eye on them because you have a job to do for them. You have to amuse them and keep them amused. That’s all.
Luckily, there are various ways in which you can do this. Like every storyteller understood, you must always have characters more interesting than anyone present and you must have disturbing things happening to them. You should have excitement, treachery, loyalty, loss and if at all possible, revenge. You have to have a laugh with the characters and another one at them. You should have layers of hidden story for the more alert reader to dig up.
There must always be love. Nothing moves without it. Every good story is embedded in it, even where it is never spoken, even where it is contorted.
And of course you should disrupt the reader’s afternoon.
I hope Old Friends amused you.
I have written and spoken before on the number of great bookshops we are privileged to have in Kilkenny – The Book Centre, Stonehouse Books, Dubray Books and Khan’s. More recently Easons have opened a small branch as well.
Imagine living in a city with a population of around 24,000 and being surrounded by that many wonderful bookshops? Each one of them staffed by people who are enthusiastic, helpful and incredibly supportive of both readers and writers.
One of them, Dubray Books, is hosting an evening tomorrow night (17th August) celebrating local talent as part of Arts Week here in Kilkenny. Both Tom O’Neill and myself will be there. Looking forward to it. Excuse the bad photo!
Dubray Books Window Display
Last week I was in the home of a great gardener from Ballon, Co. Carlow (Stasia O’Neill, who happens to be Tom O’Neill’s mum!) and lying on the kitchen table I saw the book The Remarkable Baobab by Thomas Pakenham.
A book entirely dedicated to my favourite tree – and, coincidentally, a tree that is central to the sequel to The Butterfly Heart).
Thomas Pakenham said in the intro to his book Remarkable Trees of the World that after meeting an elephantine Baobab in South Africa it took the self control of a monk not to allow the whole book to be dominated by this tree. He let his self control go in 2004 when this book was published. I do not know how I missed it, but thank you Stasia for introducing me to it.
It is not, and nor does it pretend to be, a botanical textbook. It is a collection of photographs, stories and personal recollections of these trees in Madagascar, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean. The trees arrived in the Caribbean (as did many of the inhabitants) in the slave ships. The slaves themselves carried emergency rations in small pouches – among these were the tasty seeds of the Baobab pod.
One grip with the book. He says in the introduction that ‘The African baobab was the first to be discovered’ and later says ‘The 21 years old French explorer and naturalist who discovered it, Michel Adanson…’
No. This is not so. The tree may be named after Adanson (all eight species have the prefix Adansonia) but this tree was well known by people who lived in Africa and Madagascar for many centuries prior to Adanson’s visit in 1749. So, discovered is incorrect Mr. Pakenham.
Notwithstanding this, anyone out there who loves trees (and who doesn’t?) should get themselves a copy of the book. I got mine on Amazon for tw0 quid!
