Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Tipperary: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Tipperary: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Tipperary: A Novel
    Audiobook16 hours

    Tipperary: A Novel

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "My wooing began in passion, was defined by violence and circumscribed by land; all these elements molded my soul." So writes Charles O'Brien, the unforgettable hero of bestselling author Frank Delaney's extraordinary new novel-a sweeping epic of obsession, profound devotion, and compelling history involving a turbulent era that would shape modern Ireland.

    Born into a respected Irish-Anglo family in 1860, Charles loves his native land and its long-suffering but irrepressible people. As a healer, he travels the countryside dispensing traditional cures while soaking up stories and legends of bygone times-and witnessing the painful, often violent birth of land-reform measures destined to lead to Irish independence.

    At the age of forty, summoned to Paris to treat his dying countryman-the infamous Oscar Wilde-Charles experiences the fateful moment of his life. In a chance encounter with a beautiful and determined young Englishwoman, eighteen-year-old April Burke, he is instantly and passionately smitten-but callously rejected. Vowing to improve himself, Charles returns to Ireland, where he undertakes the preservation of the great and abandoned estate of Tipperary, in whose shadow he has lived his whole life-and which, he discovers, may belong to April and her father.

    As Charles pursues his obsession, he writes the "History" of his own life and country. While doing so, he meets the great figures of the day, including Charles Parnell, William Butler Yeats, and George Bernard Shaw. And he also falls victim to less well-known characters-who prove far more dangerous. Tipperary also features a second "historian:" a present-day commentator, a retired and obscure history teacher who suddenly discovers that he has much at stake in the telling of Charles's story.

    In this gloriously absorbing and utterly satisfying novel, a man's passion for the woman he loves is twinned with his country's emergence as a nation. With storytelling as sweeping and dramatic as the land itself, myth, fact, and fiction are all woven together with the power of the great nineteenth-century novelists. Tipperary once again proves Frank Delaney's unrivaled mastery at bringing Irish history to life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 6, 2007
    ISBN9780739333716
    Unavailable
    Tipperary: A Novel

    Related to Tipperary

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Memoir & biography

      Apr 3, 2024

      Memoir & biography
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Venerable Name Revived

      Feb 2, 2022

      A Venerable Name Revived
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Lives Of War Prisoners And An Ex-spy

      Apr 19, 2024

      Don’t allow yourself to be put off by the cumbersome title because this is a good book. South Africa’s contribution to the Allied cause in the north African deserts and Abyssinia is well known – less so that it resulted in upwards of 100 000 Italian

      2 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Nov 2, 2022

      Great Read
      7 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Jul 13, 2022

      Great Read
      7 min read

    • Article

      THE Reading room

      Dec 2, 2020

      Trent Dalton’s ambitious tale combines a dreamy aura of magical realism with scenes rooted in the Australian landscape. At its heart is Molly Hook, the “poor little gravedigger girl”, age seven when the story opens in Darwin in 1935. Molly’s mum, Vio

      6 min read

    • Article

      Last Chance For A Summer Fling: The 10 Best Books Of August 2020

      Aug 24, 2020

      An impressive stable of imaginative fiction, insightful memoir, and illuminating history rounds out our list of best new books for August 2020.

      2 min read

    • Article

      THE Reading room

      Dec 2, 2020

      Trent Dalton’s ambitious tale combines a dreamy aura of magical realism with scenes rooted in the Australian landscape. At its heart is Molly Hook, the “poor little gravedigger girl”, age seven when the story opens in Darwin in 1935. Molly’s mum, Vio

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Special Relationship

      Mar 20, 2024

      A Special Relationship
      5 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Feb 23, 2022

      Great Read
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Man Who Invented Scotland?

      Aug 5, 2021

      The Man Who Invented Scotland?
      8 min read

    • Article

      February's 10 Books To Break The Winter Doldrums

      Feb 13, 2019

      Here are the 10 books that impressed the Monitor's book critics this month: 1   Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen Kin Stewart is a time-traveling secret agent with a heart of gold who got lost on a mission and created a family. Intelligent, caring

      3 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Colvin, Awkward-Rich, Sarginson, Grey, and More

      Dec 10, 2019

      —new titles from the likes of Jeffrey Colvin, Cameron Awkward-Rich, Saskia Sarginson, Iona Grey, and more—t The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Colvin, Awkward-Rich, Sarginson, Grey, and More appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Jan 29, 2023

      Great Read
      7 min read

    • Article

      From Russia, With Love

      Sep 14, 2022

      From Russia, With Love
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology Edited by Karina Vernon

      Sep 15, 2020

      The Prairies are my home. The Prairies are not my home. I am from the Prairies. I am not from the Prairies. It has always been like this. Although I, a Black woman of varied origins, have spent a significant portion of my life living in Alberta, my r

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Warning To The Fortean

      Jul 14, 2022

      A Warning To The Fortean
      9 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Apr 22, 2022

      By Don Winslow This first book in a projected trilogy about warring mobster families is set in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1986. The Italians and the Irish have carved up the city, controlling the trucking industry and the docks. The author makes ov

      2 min read

    • Article

      International Books

      Sep 8, 2019

      Desperate to feel safe after a violent assault, a young author leaves London to teach at a university in the country. But as she navigates through student dramas and a demanding job, she realises her sense of safety is an illusion. A feeling of const

      5 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Apr 19, 2023

      Great Read
      7 min read

    • Article

      Christmas Book Guide

      Nov 30, 2023

      This is journalist Trent Dalton’s third novel and it deals with hopes and dreams in the most terrifying places. Lola is 17 and living in an orange 1987 Toyota HiAce van on a scrap yard by the Brisbane River. When Lola was a baby, Erica plunged a knif

      7 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reads

      Dec 9, 2019

      Summer Reads
      8 min read

    • Article

      Finding Facts In Fiction

      Mar 12, 2021

      Finding Facts In Fiction
      10 min read

    • Article

      France In Technicolour

      Apr 11, 2024

      On 19 November 1316, a four-day-old baby died. This was not an unusual occurrence in medieval France, but the loss of this particular infant was a constitutional disaster as well as a personal tragedy. That's because he was King John I, the last in t

      1 min read

    • Article

      Over The Sea To Skye

      Sep 21, 2022

      Over The Sea To Skye
      4 min read

    Reviews for Tipperary

    3/5

    148 ratings46 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I really thoroughly enjoyed this book a lot & was a bit hesitant after reading some of the reviews. I, personally, found it very engaging & interesting. It didn't seem slow at all & I enjoyed the way historical figures were added to the story, had no trouble keeping up with the changing narrators. It's one of those books, in my opinion, that sticks with you...a great story!! I am very excited to go get "Ireland" & am also awaiting the new release next month.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book, probably because I can't get enough of Irish history, and because I was going through a rough breakup at the time I read it. A fictional romance is always nice to take your mind off the real thing.
    • 4/5
      Tipperary. Frank Delaney. 2007. This is the second book on Ireland I have read by Delaney. It is not a sequel to Ireland, but it does relate the history of late 19th century Ireland. An Anglo-Irishman, Charles O’Brien travels the country as a “healer,” a herbalist, I think is what we’d call him. He is called to Paris to treat a dying Oscar Wilde.While there he meets and becomes infatuated with an attractive young English woman who has no interest in him at all-except when she can use him to her benefit. She and he become obsessed with restoring a ruined estate, “Tipperary.” Intertwined with the restoration of the estate, is the story of Charles’ life and the history of Ireland during this time which if fascinating and gruesome.
    • 2/5
      I didn't really care for the book or the main character. It is told in two voices,switching back and forth. The writing about Ireland history is interesting though.
    • 2/5
      The narrative is told by two individuals and switches back and forth between them throughout the book. The first voice is Charles O’Brien who was born in the Victorian Irish era during a time of the famine. O’Brien keeps a personal record of everything that happens to him in his travels…the good and the bad. The second voice is another historian, Michael Nugent, who finds Charles O’Brien’s chronicle and investigates and verifies facts and events with a surprise at the end.Charles O’Brien falls in love with April Burke and she rejects him. But he never gives up and continues to pursue her. Ireland enfolds before your eyes with Frank Delaney’s descriptions of the land, the people and the love the people have for the land. After reading the book, I wanted to visit Ireland.
    • 1/5
      I actually received this book in an Early Reviewer batch almost two years ago. It has taken me this long to review it because I loathed it so completely.I found Mr. Delaney's writing heavy and pedantic. And the plot seems like clouds on a windy day: never quite standing still but never quite coming together either.The descriptions of various hardships were boring and/or ridiculous and the conversations dull and cliched. It felt like the worst sort of Victorian melodrama.Surprisingly, when I read reviews of the author's other book, Ireland, people seemed to love it. I suppose every author has an off-day now and then, but this was ridiculous.
    • 2/5
      I didn't really enjoy this book. I didn't finish so I cannot give a full review. I did make several attempts at it, but I couldn't see wasting more time on a book I just didn't like. I normally enjoy books of this sort, but I found it confusing and did nothing to hold my interest.
    • 4/5
      Frank Delaney “Tipperary”The beginning of the book, in fact, the first two chapters were slow reading, but after that the story develops and embraces the reader.The narrative is told by two individuals and switches back and forth between them throughout the book. The first voice is Charles O’Brien who was born in the Victorian Irish era during a time of the famine. O’Brien keeps a personal record of everything that happens to him in his travels…the good and the bad. The second voice is another historian, Michael Nugent, who finds Charles O’Brien’s chronicle and investigates and verifies facts and events with a surprise at the end.Charles O’Brien falls in love with April Burke and she rejects him. But he never gives up and continues to pursue her. Ireland enfolds before your eyes with Frank Delaney’s descriptions of the land, the people and the love the people have for the land. After reading the book, I wanted to visit Ireland.This wonderful book tells the tale of a romantic love story and strives to explain how much the Irish love their homeland.
    • 5/5
      Ireland. The word conjures up many images. Green fields, low mountains, picturesque tranquility; rough and tough fighting men, beautiful ladies, and fair haired children; great authors, great fighters, and a fight for nationhood that spanned centuries; each image a part of Ireland, each depicting a land of many facets. To most readers, Ireland is the home or birthplace of Yeats and Shaw, Wilde and Joyce. The Irish urge to create beauty from within their indomitable spirit led to many a feat in all spheres of life.It is this spirit that Frank Delaney captures in Tipperary, his third US publication. Delaney is himself an émigré from Ireland, born in the very town where the novel is set. His knowledge of the town and its environs comes through clearly, as does his experience as a BBC broadcaster and judge for the Man Booker Prize.Tipperary is told primarily through the voices of two men, separated by a generation, one living at the dawn of the 20th century, and the other at the dawn of the 21st. They are both historians, one writing a personal and contemporary history, the other a commentator on the first. Charles O’Brien, the former of these, is a man of Victorian Ireland, a gentleman born in 1860 to an Ireland depopulated by famine. It is from him that the reader receives most of the story. O’Brien tells of the tumultuous times in which he lived by keeping a personal journal, something he calls a “small personal history of Ireland in my lifetime – a life of love and pain and loss and trouble and delight and knowledge.” The other historian, Michael Nugent, discovered Charles O’Brien’s text and interrupts the narrative often to explain or verify O’Brien’s assertions or historical accuracy. However, unbeknownst to Nugent, he has a personal stake in the story, one which develops as the plot progresses.The plot follows O’Brien as he pursues April Burke, a woman twenty years his junior with whom he as fallen in love, but who vehemently rejects him. In the process, he meets with famous Irish notables of the period such as George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Oscar Wilde, Charles Stewart Parnell, and even Michael Collins, highly esteemed leader of the Irish Republican Army. April is discovered to be the heir to Tipperary Castle (which had lain unclaimed for fifty years) in a time when the landed aristocracy is greatly out of favor in Ireland. Many of the Irish wish the return of their ancestral lands to the people and civil and military unrest are on the rise. Against this backdrop April pursues her land, and Charles pursues her. Ultimately, it is a love story, one of a man for a woman, and of a people for its land.The novel itself is beautifully written. Delaney switches back and forth from the contemporary history of the late 1800s and early 1900s by Charles O’Brien and the commentary on that text by Nugent. Some readers will find the switches difficult to follow, but this reviewer did not. Delaney made sure within the first sentence, sometimes even the first word, to ensure that the reader knew he had moved from Charles O’Brien’s history to Nugent’s commentary and vice versa. Other voices are later introduced by Nugent to help explain the circumstances surrounding O’Brien’s life such as O’Brien’s mother, Joe Harney, and even April herself.Delaney has written a novel which delves into the psyches of the various Irish and Anglo-Irish of the period. Their desire for nationhood and the love of the people for their land are a driving force within the story. And yet, he has made it all deeply personal by telling us of the story of Charles and April. In their relationship, we see Ireland reflected.The first two chapters spend a great deal of time on back story and setting, and readers may find it slow and difficult to read, as Delaney writes O’Brien using a Victorian style. Since O’Brien’s reminisces fill the majority of the first two chapters and the first part of the third, those unschooled in Victorian language may dislike the tone and voice. It is necessary to set the stage for the mystery that comes next, and the reader would be well advised to pay attention. In chapter three, more voices are introduced, and the plot twists and turns in such a way as to make a mystery that is both intriguing and beguiling.Delaney is a master of the voice. Each of his characters is unique in the way they write, from O’Brien and his Victorian style, to Nugent and his historian’s need for accuracy. From the random and chaotic nature of April Burke’s letters, to the colloquial voice of Joe Harney, each character sees Ireland in a different light, and so illuminates an era of much personal and political turmoil. It is “a story of a passionate romance within an epic struggle for nationhood,” told in a variety of perspectives, but always realizing that history is always personal, and never objective.I highly recommend Tipperary. It is storytelling as only the Irish can tell.
    • 3/5
      This book got off to a slow start. It is beautifully written, but the plot fails to pull the reader in and the narrative is a bit confusing. I really loved "Ireland" another book by Delaney, but couldn't find the same enthusiasm for this book. Delaney's love for Ireland is clear, but unlike in his other book, it was harder to share that love with this book.
    • 1/5
      I feel guilty for not reviewing this book sooner, because I got it through the Early Reviewer program. However, I just thought that the book was so awful. Even though I tried to get into it two different times, I just couldnt get through this book. I tried on two different times when I was in different moods and I couldnt get anywhere either time. It was confusing and pointless. I enjoy books with alternating narrators. But I had a hard time with the two narrators in this book because I didn't think that they had their own unique voice. They were hard to tell apart. I also get irritated when famous people just "pop in and out" of books. I just happened to be walking down the street and ran into Oscar Wilde. I guess the basics is just that the book didn't capture anything for me and I couldnt immerse myself into its pages.However, it is important to note that I DIDNT finish this book. So maybe some of the issues that I had with it would have been solved by having made it to the end. I just couldnt force myself to finish it.
    • 3/5
      I got this book as part of the Early Reviewers program and was thrilled. I had read Delaney's earlier book about Ireland and had learned a lot. In both books, the author seems interested in the story-telling process itself. Tipperary was one of the more complex books of historical fiction I've read. The author tells his story with two alternating voices, a narrator contemporary to the events in the book and a more modern narrator who is looking back into Irish history. Both narrators have personal interests in the events of the story, and at first it was a bit confusing. Once I became comfortable with the author's style, the stories came alive.Good historical fiction is the telling of the stories of fascinating and powerful human beings whose lives and actions have powerful impacts on their times. Ultimately, this was a very satisfying read for those who are interested in the origins of the Irish Troubles and the human cost of that era.
    • 3/5
      I've been a bit delinquent.I received this book on August 6, 2007 as part of the Advance Reader's program through LibraryThing and read it soon thereafter, finishing it on 8/27/07.Part of the deal with the Advance Reader's program is that, in return for a free copy of the book, you're supposed to review the book. It doesn't matter if it's a good review or not, you're just supposed to review it.For some reason, I wasn't very motivated to review this one. I don't know if it was because I only read it out of obligation. I had requested it so I had to follow through on my part of the deal.I don't know if it was because I wasn't thrilled with it. I don't know if it was because I felt obliged to be kind.Just not sure.But, I was in Explore, Aspen's local bookstore, the other day and I saw Tipperary displayed on the counter with the new releases. Checking with Amazon, I found that the book had been published 11/6/07.So, here I am, writing this review. More as a clearing it off my to do list and assuaging my guilt than anything else.Not such a great lead-in, huh? Not making you want to rush out and read it, am I?Rightfully so, perhaps.I'm fairly ambivalent about this book. I found it a bit difficult to get going. I often found the protagonist annoying.Let me back up a bit. The book is a cross between historical fiction and a romance novel. It's a romance novel from a male perspective but a romance novel nonetheless. Set in Ireland during the turn of the century, the book unconvincingly entwines the simple, country-boy protagonist, Charles O'Brien, with many a famous individual.The book is written as Charles' journals and for most of the narrative takes on the often stunted prose of an amateur diarist. Delany also resorts to the improbable artifice of the discovery of writings from O'Brien's mother when faced with the need to include a perspective other than Charles'.Towards the end of the book, I did start to get interested in the resolution of the "mystery" involving our present day narrator. Not being very familiar with Irish history, I also found some redeeming educational features in O'Brien's story.I didn't hate it but wouldn't recommend it except to someone with a particular interest in the author, the Irish people or the period.I do understand that Delany's other book, Ireland, which I have not read, comes much more highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I was half way through this novel until I began to be involved in it. The first half of the book was confusing with the different narrators. I do not understand even now, after finishing the book, why the first part of the book is even there. Delaney hits his stride in the second half. The narration is clearer, the drama is there, and finally the purpose of the novel becomes clear. I enjoyed the conflict between Charles and April, the Irish history and the engagement of the characters in the book, the restoration of the castle. All parts were fascinating, but none of these parts were in the first half.After having too many historical characters introduced in the first half of the novel, I began to wonder if this was an Irish Forrest Gump. But the name-dropping returned to a reasonable level in the last half.It's difficult to recommend a book that I did not like until over 100 pages were read. But the last half is so compelling that I would recommend it with the above warnings.
    • 3/5
      I am not a huge fan of Irish history, but Delaney writes in such a way that makes it interesting. You really get a feel for the land and why the Irish guard it with their lives. The main characters were slow to develop and I felt that in the end they fell flat. Some characters, like Charles' father were important at the beginning and then fall off the radar. You're never quite sure what has happened. Overall, a lovely novel of Ireland.
    • 4/5
      "Be careful about me. Be careful about my country and my people and how we tell our history."I have a fairly well-established love for unreliable narrators, and for Irish literature. That said, I usually prefer that my unreliable narrators not telegraph themselves *quite* so blatantly on the first page. It works here, but only just barely.It took most of 75 pages for me to really get into the story, but once I did things hummed along nicely until nearly the very end. The characters were complicated and real, the settings were gorgeous, the events themselves were slipped into a broader historical narrative.That said, this was one of the few times that a sudden twist at the end really didn't work for me. It's odd that something could be both telegraphed so early and seem so entirely unrelated to the main force of the story, the narrative that was actually interesting and unique.Slow beginning, strong middle, disappointing plot twist at the end. I've recommended it to a few people, but am on the fence about rereading it myself.
    • 1/5
      It's been a long time since I couldn't finish a book. But less than 100 pages into this one, I gave up -- it's dull, the narrative structure is really clunky, and I just don't care. I love Ireland, I love complex narrative, I like love stories and historical fiction -- but tedium is not my thing.
    • 1/5
      I was fortunate enough to get an advance reader's edition copy of this book within a couple weeks prior of my first trip to Ireland. It was just to Dublin, but still -- it gave me a better understanding of the country I was reading about.I wasn't unimpressed, per se, but I did often drift while reading this. My eyes would wander towards another book in my stack I was reading and my thoughts would turn outward away from the story. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly captivating, either. And while breaking the "fourth wall" in a story of any sort can be a valuable literary tool, doing so constantly with all of the historical context interludes by an additional narrator (even if the interludes are fiction, too) is distracting. The dual narrator setup used to tell a story that, while interesting, isn't really engrossing made me have to read this thing in installments instead of enthrallment. Remember back to your grade school days when the class would read passages aloud, then stop for the teacher to rant/explicate/elaborate? Imagine having that same experience actually in print, on the page, through the entire book. And there you have "Tipperary."Ultimately, despite my interest in Ireland and its literature, I had to give up on it.
    • 4/5
      The beginning of the book was a bit boring and the present-day narrator felt intrusive. I didn't care much for Charles either. He came across as a bit pathetic, chasing after a mostly unlikeable woman who wasn't the least bit interested in him. However, about a quarter of the way into the book, things began to improve. The history became more interesting, more was revealed about the present-day narrator, and Charles developed a backbone (and a personality). By the time I reached the end, I'd learned quite a bit about Ireland's history, I liked almost all of the characters, and I'd decided that I liked the book, too. It was worthing wading through the boring bits at the beginning.
    • 4/5
      Many thanks to Random House and LibraryThing for the opportunity to review an Advance Reader's Edition of Tipperary, by Frank Delaney.Delaney is a marvelous writer, and his descriptions of the Irish countryside and Tipperary Castle are wonderfully alive. As he details the years-long work of restoring the old castle to its original beauty, I felt I was in the rooms, observing those who worked with great skill, care, and true enjoyment, to restore the structure to brilliance.Delaney's portraits of some of the novel's human characters are less complete and dazzling than of Tipperary Castle, and I believe the book suffers a bit for it, overall. I did like Charles O'Brien from the start, though his obvious intelligence seemed at odds with that streak of innocence and naivete - perhaps the best example of that being his actions after meeting Parnell. But Charles is a good and honorable man, and an interesting narrator.In April Burke's early scenes, I admire her strength and spunk, even as she is rejecting Charles's affections. Given the situation - declarations of "love at first sight" from a man more than twice her age, a "healer" who hadn't been able to cure her new acquaintance, Oscar Wilde - her feelings are completely understandable. As she begins to pursue the rights to the castle, she does seem "icy," as Charles's mother says, and she seems to take advantage of Charles's good nature and affections. Finally, it is her own devotion to the castle, and her willingness to toil and get dirty with the rest of the workers, that makes me truly like her.For me, the whole book became more interesting with the introduction of Joe Harney, who becomes Charles's closest friend, and then April's as well. His narration is always honest and lively, and also serves the function of showing a fuller and more objective view of Charles. Harney tells us things that Charles doesn't know or won't speak about, and gives another perspective of Charles and April's relationship.The modern-day narrator was actually the least engaging character. His narratives helped to explain the historical events of Charles and April's era, which was very beneficial for me, as I was unfamiliar with the events depicted. Once he introduced himself at the start of chapter four, I started to get a sense of him as a character, rather than simply a voice in the present explaining events of the past; however, his own story didn't hold me as that of Charles, April, and Harney did.Along with the restoration of the castle, the Irish war for independence from Britain is the other "sustained narrative" where Delaney excels. The fights are gripping, and the danger palpable; I feared for Harney's life! What little I have heard of the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Fein had given me a negative impression of them, yet seeing the Irish desire for independence from Britain in the novel, I sympathized with them. I'm not a great fan of history, but I appreciate those historical novels that make me want to learn more about the real events behind them.Perhaps Tipperary would be a stronger novel without the modern-day narrator; I believe I would have enjoyed the story of long ago just as much without him in the book. But, now that I know him, perhaps I'd like him better if I had time to reread the book. I appreciate Delaney's way of telling stories through different characters, to give the reader a more complete view. Perhaps his next novel could be leaner, shorter, and a bit more focused, but with the same fine writing and fondness for storytelling he exhibits here - the ingredients for a true page-turner.
    • 2/5
      I really tried to like this book, but it just didn't happen. From the first page nothing grabbed me. It was a chore to read. I can usually read w/ background noise, but not so with this book. I had to have complete quiet to read it. I kept having to re-read pages. The narrative with it goes from Charles O'Briens story to the current day narrator was totally confusing. I couldn't tell who was speaking until I read it for a while. I didn't like the main character--he was dull, boring, naive and sometimes totally stupid. I got about 3/4 through the book and just couldn't continue any further. It's a shame as I heard Frank Delaney's previous novel was excellent. I guess I expected the same with this one. I would like to thank Library Thing and Random House for the opportunity to read this book. I still love you Random House--just unfortunately not this book!
    • 3/5
      Tipperary is the story of Charles O'Brien, a fictional character and his experiences in a dynamic period of Irish history, incorporating actual people and situations into the fabric of the narrative. While I found it to be an interesting premise, learning a little about Ireland, I found the main character unappealing. He seems very one dimensional and bland, considering the drama that surrounded him, unbelievably naive and passive, although stronger character traits emerge very late in the book. I also found the method of telling the story through excerpts from Charles' journal, commentary from an unknown (who is revealed in the latter part of the book), as well as letters and journal excerpts from other characters to be distracting and disjointed. I would start to get pulled into the story only to be interrupted by a different, often unidentified voice. Overall I felt the book never lived up to it's potential.
    • 3/5
      This book started off with a good story, then slowly became difficult to follow. The story changed from the ninetheenth century character speaking to the modern day narrator without a clear line. I have read Delaney's other books and enjoyed them all. I am sorry I can't say the same about this book. I kept reading hopeing it would pick up, to me it didn't. I can only rate it 2.5 And that is only because of the first few chapters.
    • 3/5
      I appreciated the opportunity to review an ARE of Tipperary. The novel overall was a good snapshot of a period of Irish history, and raised questions throughout as to where truth can really be found in history. The storyline centers on Charles O'Brien, a traveling healer, who meets April Burke and falls in love at first sight. While April shuns him, Charles cannot give up on her. When he learns she may be heir to the abandoned Tipperary estate near his own home, he becomes obsessed with that land and learning April's true story. At times Charles' idealism is so profound that he seems almost naive and it's easy to become frustrated with his character. Interwoven with Charles' storyline is that of Ireland's quest for independence from England, and the political and social unrest during this time period. Charles' accounts are interspersed with historical overviews provided by a modern-day narrator. For the first half of the novel, the modern-day narrator feels almost intrusive and at times disrupts the rhythm of the story. The story picks up about halfway through the novel, as Charles' narrative and the narrator's become more connected. Unfortunately, it took about this long for me to become really engaged with the story. While the novel overall was a good reading experience, the first half felt so disjointed that I gave it three stars overall. Overall it was a somewhat slow read initially, but it does reward the reader with a fascinating historical backdrop.
    • 5/5
      Tipperary (Advanced Reader’s Edition)Frank DelaneyI was delighted to receive the Advance Reading Edition of Tipperary by Frank Delaney though LibraryThings Early Reviewers program, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Historical fiction is not a genre I usually gravitate towards, but I found the book beautifully written and was drawn in from the start. Charles O’Brien, the main character and an itinerant healer, issues a warning to “be careful of him” which was intriguing. O’Brien proved to be a likeable and fascinating main character. In fact it was hard to see why his love interest, April Burke, spurned him so! What a life Charles O’Brien claims to have had! He inadvertently brought down Irish political hero Charles Parnell, is a healer at Oscar Wilde’s death bead, (this is where he meets Miss Burke and first hears the story of her claim on Tipperary castle) gives writing advice to the young James Joyce and become acquainted with George Bernard Shaw and William Butler Yeats. Finally he becomes involved in the Irish civil war and assists member of the Irish Republican Army. Upon meeting April, O’Brien falls in love not only with her but with Tipperary Castle and tries to involve himself wherever he can in the upkeep and the restoration of this building that both he and April love so much. The descriptions of the Castle and of the Irish countryside are beautifully detailed.A secondary narrator at first seemed intrusive, especially since I would have like to find out what was happening next, but as he gradually became more ingrained in the story and less dispassionate his insight became more and more important. This is especially true after the fourth chapter where he introduces himself and starts to give the reader some insight into his very personal interest into the story of Charles O’Brien and April Burke. Other narrators including Charles’ mother Amelia and Charles’ dear friend Joseph Harney add interesting perspectives on events as they unfold.Delaney demonstrates in this book a great love of the Irish land and people and a tremendous grasp of Irish history. I found this book to be a very entertaining read and had no problem with the ambitious scope of this book. Even better the book held surprises right until the very end. I would definitely be interested in reading more by Frank Delaney.
    • 2/5
      I had such high hopes for this book, having loved "Ireland" dearly. Delaney's unceasing adoration for his homeland is again evident here, through the narrative journals of Charles O'Brien, a 19th century healer. If the book consisted solely of O'Brien's epic tales and his love affair with Tipperary castle owner April Burke, the book would work.However, Delaney made a strategic error in having dual narrators. Just when O'Brien's stories really got exciting, the other narrator stepped in to reiterate everything with all the panache of Dr. Everett Von Scott, the scientist from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats and George Bernard Shaw make appearances but they seem to be just pointless cameos.Rarely have I found a book so tedious. Finally at page 200 or so (!) it seems to get to the point, such as it is (essentially remodeling the castle). It saddened me because I can't tell you how much I looked forward to reading "Tipperary." Even more so, I was anxious to give this book five stars. Sadly, I could barely finish it.Because of my love for "Ireland" and the occasional good tales by O'Brien, I give it two stars. Thank you to LT and Random House for the opportunity to be part of the ER group.
    • 4/5
      Overall, Tipperary was an enjoyable read. At first, I was afraid the novel would just be an Irish Forest Gump. The main character seems to touch and influence a vast array of characters in Irish history (a history I know relatively little about). At the same time, I found him, his love interest, and the narrator all extremely annoying personalities for the first half of the book. However, the narrator’s involvement in the story and its eventual conclusion restored my faith in the author and the novel. I liked the varied tones for the different characters in the novel and the tight integration with historical events. In the end, Tipperary offers a slow, frustrating start, but it finishes strong and made the slog at the beginning worthwhile.
    • 3/5
      (These comments apply to the advanced reader’s edition)I had high hopes for this book, having read Delaney's novel "Ireland" and had the opportunity to hear him talk about that book and Irish history on an author tour. Unfortunately, I found "Tipperary" to be only moderately engaging, and had difficulty staying connected to the characters and storyline.Following Charles O'Brien through this tumultuous period in Irish history, the reader is introduced to both some of the major players in the country's history (Wilde, Yeats, and Shaw) as well as to ordinary people evicted from their homes and brought low in other ways by the cruel times in which they lived. While the overall story of "Tipperary" wasn't as good as Delaney's earlier novel, his ability to create memorable vignettes and to draw out the unique, small stories that really make a country's history made this book enjoyable, even if it wasn't truly memorable.
    • 3/5
      This review pertains to an Advanced Readers Edition:I love Irish history and books set in Ireland, I feel like I have been there many times through the books I have read. I was excited to travel there again with Frank Delaney's Tipperary. The first point I was struck by in reading Tipperary was not the switching back and forth as many other reviewers were irritated by but by the main character himself. I just found him intensely dislikable. I found it no real surprise that the object of his affections did not like him either. Although I have to say I didn't like her any better. I think this could have been a very good book had it not been for the very unlikable main characters. I didn't finish the book, I got to about page 150 and gave up. I kept the book in my TBR to try at a later date, so it wasn't completely awful, but I do hope a second try will find the characters more amenable. I am very much a mood reader, so if my mood was such that I could not accept the characters as they were portrayed, I may end up liking them better in a second try. Thanks to Librarything and Random House for the opportunity to read this Advance Readers Copy.
    • 2/5
      This book took me awhile to finish. I thought Mr. Delaney did a decent job with the historical facts of Irelands history and scenery but loses me with the plot. I usually don't mind a book told from different perpectives but had a hard time keeping up with who was actually speaking. Charles O'Brien falls head over heels in love with a young woman named April Burke. She can't stand him. He decides to fix up the Tipperary estate.By the time your famous people make their brief appearences (Yates, Wilde and Shaw) I really could care less. Not an enjoyable read.