The Magical Realm: An Irish Childhood

Irish memoirs are all the rage, but this one, written in 1943 by an Irish-born professional writer, describes the life of the rural bourgeoisie rather than the desperate urban poor of Angela's Ashes. Coyle's parents owned a small estate in northern Ireland, and there was enough income from rents and investments to provide for servants and governesses and pony carts until her alcoholic father died in an asylum. After that, Coyle's mother and grandmother struggled unsuccessfully to maintain their gracious life and finally had to remove to the city. This impressionistic account focuses on Coyle's early childhood at the turn of the century. Lyrical evocations of weather, landscape and the emotional climate create a convincing image of the bookish, intense child Coyle was. Because of some unremembered accident as a toddler, she spent two years in hospitals, returning home only when she was almost four. Drawn to her father by his charm and warmth, she only gradually recognized the destructiveness of his drunken rages, and then could not forgive herself for denying him. Kathleen found comfort in her beloved dog, Major, and in the glorious Irish countryside rather than in the Catholicism of her mother's people. Her sensual prose betrays an inherent paganism, as she describes every flower, hedge and tree she comes across, as well as the exact pitch of her mood at different times. The effect of so much metaphor-burdened description is like eating too much rich food. In large servings, it can be overwhelming, but a bit at a time is quite good. (May)