Groundwork

Rating:
Summary: An AMAZING, enthralling, terrifying, realistic account!!!.
Review: An AMAZING, enthralling, terrifying, and realistic account of the tragedy and beauty of two families in County Munster. Robert welch transforms a true Irishmans history and ancestry into a mind-blowing piece of, what is sure to become, an artifact of uncensored and factual Irish belief and history...

This book MUST be read, the experience is too much to miss...

Rating:
Summary: "Sad and thoughtful, and full of rancour and feeling"
Review: And terrific! With Groundwork, Robert Welch distills into one heady brew four hundred years of Anglo-Irish conflict and the historical relationships between the Condon and O'Dwyer families. He does this by presenting four- or five-page stories of individuals and events at seemingly random dates and stirring them together. Some stories are in the first person, giving an effervescence to the characters and an immediacy to events, even very ancient events. Other stories are in the third person, providing color and allowing the reader to "store" the information for future use. The individual stories are very short, the cast of characters is very large (necessitating a dramatis personae at the beginning of the book), the time frame is huge, there is no real "plot," in the traditional sense, and time here is cumulative, rather than linear.

Despite all this, Groundwork is not difficult reading. Somehow Welch manages to make it all work, and even a casual reader with little or no background or interest in the history of the Irish people will find it absolutely fascinating and often thrilling. On the most superficial level, the daily lives of the Condon and O'Dwyer families in the 20th century capture the reader, who can identify with them and share their tribulations--a girl who finds herself pregnant and abandoned, a son who becomes a monk, a father whose children die during an epidemic, a wife who finds that her husband has been unfaithful.

Welch is not writing a melodrama here, however. These events are related to the ongoing history of the Irish people, with some entries here dating back to the Elizabethan period. Betrayals in the 20th century parallel some depicted in earlier centuries; the struggle to survive as Irishmen in a country dominated by the British is similar, regardless of century; the seemingly thankless efforts of scholars to preserve the history, culture, and language of the Irish continue unabated through time; and the desire to achieve respect, both individually and as a people, never wanes. As Katherine Condon remarks on the death of her mother, "I'd like to be with her among the dead, and along with all the Condons and O'Dwyers that have lived here for so many centuries. We are all alike, all sad and thoughtful, and full of rancour and feeling." And Welch includes it all in this book.

Rating:
Summary: "Sad and thoughtful, and full of rancour and feeling"
Review: And terrific! With Groundwork, Robert Welch distills into one heady brew four hundred years of Anglo-Irish conflict and the historical relationships between the Condon and O'Dwyer families. He does this by presenting four- or five-page stories of individuals and events at seemingly random dates and stirring them together. Some stories are in the first person, giving an effervescence to the characters and an immediacy to events, even very ancient events. Other stories are in the third person, providing color and allowing the reader to "store" the information for future use. The individual stories are very short, the cast of characters is very large (necessitating a dramatis personae at the beginning of the book), the time frame is huge, there is no real "plot," in the traditional sense, and time here is cumulative, rather than linear.

Despite all this, Groundwork is not difficult reading. Somehow Welch manages to make it all work, and even a casual reader with little or no background or interest in the history of the Irish people will find it absolutely fascinating and often thrilling. On the most superficial level, the daily lives of the Condon and O'Dwyer families in the 20th century capture the reader, who can identify with them and share their tribulations--a girl who finds herself pregnant and abandoned, a son who becomes a monk, a father whose children die during an epidemic, a wife who finds that her husband has been unfaithful.

Welch is not writing a melodrama here, however. These events are related to the ongoing history of the Irish people, with some entries here dating back to the Elizabethan period. Betrayals in the 20th century parallel some depicted in earlier centuries; the struggle to survive as Irishmen in a country dominated by the British is similar, regardless of century; the seemingly thankless efforts of scholars to preserve the history, culture, and language of the Irish continue unabated through time; and the desire to achieve respect, both individually and as a people, never wanes. As Katherine Condon remarks on the death of her mother, "I'd like to be with her among the dead, and along with all the Condons and O'Dwyers that have lived here for so many centuries. We are all alike, all sad and thoughtful, and full of rancour and feeling." And Welch includes it all in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Irish
Review: Groundwork was an uplifting experience. The brief chapters danced around the individual characters and their families hastening me to forge on through page after page searching for more details in this intricate web. Welch has captured the Irish in style, culture, mannerism and authenticity right down to the bone. His colorful way of phrasing sentences transforms one right into a room, place, situation or even, a person's skin. You can smell the rashers sizzling and you will also feel the sharp pain of an empty belly. I yearned to reach the conclusion of this novel but you will find that there is no "real" end to the saga. If you're Irish in any range of ancestry, read this book. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book which explores the truth in Irish history
Review: Welch explores in great detail the truth in Irish history. Realistic and fascinating sketches about food and mealtimes. This book explores the entirety of Irish history in 200 pages. Definately a must

Rating:
Summary: A complex history churned to a mystifying story.
Review: Welch has grabbed the most complex Irish histories and squeezed them into 202 pages of excellence!.

EVERYTHING is covered.. This book is definately a must!, even for a historian his or her self!.