Ratings5
Average rating3.8
In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O'Mara in the Irish countryside. The last practitioner of an honored, centuries-old tradition, the Seanchai enthralls his assembled audience for three evenings running with narratives of foolish kings and fabled saints, of enduring accomplishments and selfless acts -- until he is banished from the household for blasphemy and moves on. But these three incomparable nights have changed young Ronan forever, setting him on the course he will follow for years to come -- as he pursues the elusive, itinerant storyteller . . . and the magical tales that are no less than the glorious saga of his tenacious, troubled, and extraordinary isle.
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As I expected, I now desperately want to take a vacation to Ireland. While the structure of this book started to annoy me (one chapter of character development, one chapter of storytelling, repeat for 600 pages), I really enjoyed the content of it. I liked learning about the history and mythology of Ireland, and I enjoyed the characters and their stories. I'm pretty dense and didn't see the end coming, but I imagine most people would figure it out long before the end of the book. It seemed obvious once I finished it. I really liked this, which I didn't expect.