BOOK: Siltation
AUTHOR: Darren Lynch
PUBLISHER: Mirador Publishing
RELEASED: 27th October 2013
SYNOPSIS
'The small green rucksack has the tin whistle in it at present, but will come in handy for carrying around a few cans... I think of throwing me box of tablets in it for later, but decide against it in case the Gardai find them on me and think I'm dealing them. Sure I'm supposed to only take two a day anyhow, and the four already in me gut should sort me through the day. After a large gulp, I put me head up and chest out and make me way out of the front door.'
So begins a day in the life of Joseph Doyle; a working-class resident of Dublin, whose travels around the city and along its canals, are reminiscent of James Joyce's Leopold Bloom.
Set on a July day in 2008, against the backdrop of the decline of the Celtic Tiger, the novel reveals the darker sides of the recession, as despair and despondency deepen and reality bites. This is one man's perspective on modern Ireland that many may relate to, and others may disown.
Is the decline of Joseph Doyle representative of the general slump of Ireland, following the boom years, or is his purely an account of one man's self-destruction and personal tragedy?
Whichever way the reader chooses to interpret the text, it is at all times visceral and stark, occasionally almost too close to the bone in its views, but always told in a vernacular voice that does not hesitate to deliver its own version of events
REVIEW
My Rating = four stars
*Copy provided by the author in exchange for my honest
review
This was a real eye opener and a thought provoking read. It
is told through the eyes of Joseph ‘Bam Bam’ Doyle on a day in Ireland in July
2008, when the depth of the recession had taken hold. It was therefore a dark
and gritty read with a touch of sadness and regret of times past and the bleak
vision of the future.
I found myself relating to my own assumptions about the guys
I had often seen sat on the riverbank drinking their cans of strong lager or cider,
not really sparing a thought for why they were there or how they had gotten to
be in such a situation. It was therefore enlightening to read through this book
and berate myself for not looking beyond the first impression I had taken.
Even after a few months after reading this for the first
time it still gave me pause for thought and it therefore illustrates the
strength of the writing.
Overall an enjoyable and enlightening read. I would
definitely recommend you read it too.
BUY LINKS
MEET THE AUTHOR
Darren Lynch is a folk musician and writer from Dublin, Ireland. He plays a mixture of folk songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and America. His influences are The Dubliners, Planxty, The Fureys and Sweeney's Men.
Darren started off playing music after finishing a successful amateur boxing career with Crumlin Boxing Club. It was then in his late teens that he picked up the banjo and then later the octave mandolin and mandola. He learned from some of the great folk and trad musicians in his area: that included Tom Moran, Liam O'Neill, Darach de Brun and John Lane. He then went on to play and record with such bands as The Broadside Merchants, So-Ranna, Tam-Lin and The Feekers. The Feekers released their album Tarbolten in 2012 and it is available in Claddagh Records. The Feekers parted ways in 2013 and Darren has started a solo music career since.
2013 has seen Darren perform in such places as the Grand Folk Club in Dublin, Trad Ash Festival, Donnycarney Trad Music Festival, and The Ballyshannon Folk Festival. He has also performed at concerts in Mountmellick and at the Fleadh Cheoil in Derry.
Darren's first novel 'Siltation', was published in 2013, and his debut solo album will be out in 2014.
AUTHOR CONTACT
Darren Lynch is a folk musician and writer from Dublin, Ireland. He plays a mixture of folk songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and America. His influences are The Dubliners, Planxty, The Fureys and Sweeney's Men.
Darren started off playing music after finishing a successful amateur boxing career with Crumlin Boxing Club. It was then in his late teens that he picked up the banjo and then later the octave mandolin and mandola. He learned from some of the great folk and trad musicians in his area: that included Tom Moran, Liam O'Neill, Darach de Brun and John Lane. He then went on to play and record with such bands as The Broadside Merchants, So-Ranna, Tam-Lin and The Feekers. The Feekers released their album Tarbolten in 2012 and it is available in Claddagh Records. The Feekers parted ways in 2013 and Darren has started a solo music career since.
2013 has seen Darren perform in such places as the Grand Folk Club in Dublin, Trad Ash Festival, Donnycarney Trad Music Festival, and The Ballyshannon Folk Festival. He has also performed at concerts in Mountmellick and at the Fleadh Cheoil in Derry.
Darren's first novel 'Siltation', was published in 2013, and his debut solo album will be out in 2014.
AUTHOR CONTACT
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