Whoredom in Kimmage: Irish Women Coming of Age

Rating:
Summary: hardly representative
Review: ...Having also been an American woman, living on my own, in rural Ireland, at the same time as Rosemary Mahoney was taking her leave of that country, I can not stress enough that this woman did not spend enough time there or spend her time in any way that would bring about real understanding or learning of what Irish society and community is like. Not only does she portray every single person save for two maybe, in an ugly light, but she obviously did not pick up on the "Irish sense of humor". Very often, the Irish way of having a giggle means "humoring" someone else, especially someone else who is naive to this sort of fun.And who better for the folks in Corofin to humor than a woman who spends each day holed up in a castle or sitting in a smalltown pub of regulars where she is a total outsider. Corofin is not far from Ennis, and there, Rosemary could've enjoyed a livelier pub scene where people of her same sex and age group would gather on a regular basis...I thought the book was hilarious because I could see these Corofin folks just humoring the [stuffing] out of Rosemary. She took all of them seriously and at face value...This is one of the funniest things about being American. Our culture is so widespread that often the Irish get a laugh out of playing into what they think is our idea of them, and the folks in Corofin sure enough got a giggle out of Rosemary I'd say. Its a pity that she never immersed herself into their world...instead, she just hung around hoping to catch glimpses of skeletons in closets and kept to her... self. She was well known in Kerry, and I was twice mistaken for her with, "Oh my gosh, you're not that Amerry-can girl who wrote down all those things about the folks she lived near...are ye?" I had no idea who they were talking about atthe time. Well now I know, and its a pity so many folks here in the US eat this book up as a example of society in Ireland. Interacting as an aquaintance, Rosemary managed to pick up surface bits and pieces of some folks' lives during their leisure hours drinking. I feel this hardly gives her leverage as a reliable authority on Irish society...or even Corofin's community. Even in the very dialogues Rosemary quoted from her conversations I was mortified for Rosemary that she did not pick up on the fact that she was being played and humored just as much as the Dublin girls in her book played and humored Sister Keaton.The book, to me, only displays how very ignorant most of us Americans are of other cultures and their ways of communicating, and how content we are in our smugness of thinking we know it all in just a quick glance. A good read only if your Irish, or have lived in Ireland with Irish people for some length of time, cuz then you can laugh...Oh, and to everyone who still thinks this book an accurate portrayal...

Rating:
Summary: Not about whoredom, exactly
Review: A touching and beautiful book. I picked it up one summer, expecting a tawdry poolside read, and instead found something much more worthwhile. Rosemary Mahoney takes us through the countryside of Ireland and into the lives of today's Irish women in this highly readable tale. As an Irish-American girl searching for roots, the book proved invaluable to me. Anyone interested in Ireland, women's issues, or simply a good read, would enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: I was blown away by this book!
Review: I had no idea what to expect of this book when I picked it up, but a friend of mine recommended it, and after about ten pages I was hooked. Written from a first-person perspective by an American writer living in Ireland, it offers a most engaging voice and a vivid view of modern Ireland. The writer spent half a year living in Dublin and another half year living in rural Ireland in a Norman castle in the small village of Corofin. Having lived in Ireland for nearly ten years I was awestruck by the accuracy and intimacy of her portrayal of Irish life, her very engaging sense of humor, and her great talent as a writer. Line for line this book is absolutely beautiful. Her affectionate characterizations and stories of the people she met in Ireland fairly lift off the page. Her ear for dialogue is superb. There is a great deal of information here about Irish society, including interviews with the President of Ireland, and with other prominent Irish people, but the real draw of this wonderful book is the manner in which the writer has chosen to tell the story of this small country entering into the modern world. I laughed out loud at so many descriptions and scenes, conversations in a the pub, mishaps, local oddballs, lifestyle and beliefs of the Irish people. I didn't want the book to end. It's the kind of book you read and wish you knew the person who wrote it. There's a vividness to Mahoney's writing that I have not seen matched in many works of non-fiction. Above all, what distinguishes this work most is the clear respect and love the writer has for the people she has chosen to study and portray in it. There's a deep humaneness and sympathy to her approach to Ireland and its people, even though she offers criticisms and skepticism. I was entertained, moved, and enchanted by the stories she tells and don't know why I hadn't heard of it before now. The truths put forth in this book are sometimes a but upsetting, but they are exactly that: truths. And they are truths that needed to be told. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: A peephole into Irish life.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Rosemary Mahoney writes about the life of the Irish contrasting the city life of Dublin to the country life in Corofin. Although, the book is titled "the private lives of Irish women", she spends a great deal of time writing about the men of Corofin. Through her experiences with the local men, the reader gets insight into how women are perceived and treated in Ireland. It gave me deeper insight into the issues of abortion, divorce, homosexuality and the Catholic church's rule within Ireland. If you're interested in a realistic look into Ireland, check this book out.

Rating:
Summary: An outrageous betrayal of trust!
Review: I was expecting something quite different than what is contained within this book- and was pleasantly surprised nonetheless! This book is incredibly rich with detail and the author is a very fine story teller. I find myself literally laughing out loud at some of the vignettes of Irish life and the honest way they are captured and retold. This is one of the best books I have read this year- I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Irish Pub Tales... of Women, of a Place so Real
Review: I've never been to Ireland, but after reading Rosemary Mahoney's splendidly eclectic tour of Irish women and Irish minds, I feel like I've had the next best experience to an extended stay on the Emerald Isle. Do not be fooled by the title, this book is not a narrowly conceived analysis of gender relations. Pay attention to the words "world of" because that is what Mahoney brings to life on every page of this highly readable work. Wow, does this author ever have the gift for developing sharply focused images that emit raw energy. She speaks with women, about their paradoxical relations with men, but also takes the risk of the literary "side trip," thus creating one of the most vivid sensations of "place" that you will find on the printed page. This is also a book of pubs, of warm and pungent Guiness poured by bartenders whose youth still haunts them, standing on stone floors worn down by storytellers and lovers of ages past. It's about foreboding castles and achingly beautiful landscapes. It's about women, where women can and always should struggle and perhaps prevail -- in the swirling context that bespeaks the joy and sorrow of life, of Ireland. Once reading this book, you may very well feel that you have to make the trip yourself, or even perhaps, that you already HAVE.

Rating:
Summary: hardly representative
Review: Mahoney's book has many many flaws. Number one, she approaches her subject with a condescending, superior attitude of "I'm an enlightened American feminist looking at these backward Irish people." She then interviews many Irishwomen: lesbians, abortion activists, anti-abortion activists. . All of these people are cartoons and she never seems to get around to interviewing more typical Irishwomen who for the most part are religious Catholics with conservative views but certainly aren't the extreme fanatics or the radical feminists Mahoney describes. I spent some time in Corofin several years after this book came out and the hatred of Mahoney remains. I can attest that while Corofin has some characters, they aren't the pathetic freaks she describes.

Rating:
Summary: A travesty on both author and Irish women
Review: This book is a travesty on the author and on Irish women. The author obviously did not get in touch at all with the Irish culture and how she herself was being treated. There is a long tradition in Ireland of making fools of 'outsiders' - Irish literature is full of such pranks. The author obviously fell into the trap. This is not a good description of how Irish women live or feel. I actually laughed out loud at some of the dour parts - the author did not get the satire or the tricks behind some of the women she interviewed. One needs to be very subtle to talk to the Irish - talking everything at face value is a mistake.