| LONELY PLANET |
| |
One
in the Lonely Planet Literature
Series
Author: David Monagan
Monagan is a restless, middle-aged
father of three who for years
has dreamed of relocating from
the USA to Ireland, the land
of his forebears.
In his elegantly written, often
hilarious narrative, Monagan
describes his family's evolving
struggle to come to terms with
life in a strange land.
The result is an honest, heartfelt and penetrating portrait of a contemporary
Ireland that is so often portrayed through the wistful lens of clichés
that no longer apply.
Jaywalking with the Irish is a tale of revelations - about
donkey carts transformed into BMWs, about great blessings of warmth sometimes
laced with begrudgery, about what happens to a family that ditches stability
for the tricky task of fitting in abroad.
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$14.99
(softcover)
 |
From Publishers Weekly
In 2000, American-born journalist Monagan and his wife packed up their
Connecticut house and their three children and returned to their roots
in Cork, Ireland. "Why not muster one great adventure before we were
worn down with age or savaged by school tuition bills?" Monagan had
long adored Ireland, having studied in Dublin and occasionally revisited.
His passion remains at the surface of his memoir, yet the Ireland of the
present often bears little resemblance to the one of his memory. Monagan
recounts enrolling his children in school; watching his wife struggle
to find work; trying to blend in at the local pub; and navigating Ireland's
byzantine bureaucracy with a light touch. Monagan's story, though, grows
dark as his family finds itself at the mercy of teenage hoodlums, and
one son has difficulty adjusting to school. The story floats from incident
to incident until midway through, when Monagan decides he wants to start
a regional magazine. The various characters occasionally blur together,
and Monagan skates through his final two years in Cork too quickly, insufficiently
tying up loose ends. The writing, however, is frequently mellifluous,
offering a glimpse into some of Eire's still-existent magic and delving
into the slippery questions of identity that confront most travelers.
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