Searching for a non fiction book about a move to Ireland which turned out badly.

July 9, 2009 4:27 PM

I'm trying to track down a book which was written in the last 25 years (or so) about an American couple who inherited a house in the west of Ireland. The culture shock and concomitant problems involved with relocation, the house, the weather the people, etc. almost brings them to the point of divorce with each blaming the other for the decision to move. I've searched high and low but could only come up with a similar tome about an Australian couple. Thanks very much for any help.
posted by Tullyogallaghan to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

Is it Jaywalking With the Irish ?

Summary: 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.
posted by HeyAllie at 5:08 PM on July 9

O, Come Ye Back to Ireland and several sequels. I'm fairly sure that's it. Don't think it's HeyAllie's book, but I might be wrong.
posted by Elsie at 6:49 PM on July 9

It could be The Luck of the Irish, which I think is one of the books Elsie is referring to. I think it's related to Come Ye Back to Ireland - written by Niall Williams and Christine Breen.
posted by garnetgirl at 8:53 PM on July 9

Probably not this book, but I couldn't resist posting it in here anyway: The Ginger Man
posted by teabag at 5:38 AM on July 10

Whoops.... missed the non fiction.... disregard
posted by teabag at 5:39 AM on July 10

Wasn't there a movie like this?
posted by desjardins at 6:33 AM on July 10

Wasn't there a movie like this?

Could have been Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs", with Dustin Hoffman.
posted by dinger at 2:55 PM on July 11