Tuesday, September 12, 2006

A Good Read

Ages ago I bought Matty a copy of Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor. I thought she would like it, with it having the Irish theme and all. I'd no intention of reading it myself for Bob Geldof had said it was the best book he'd ever read in his life and I wasn't going to read anything that gype recommended.

Anyways the ma didn't like it. She read a chapter of it and pronounced it "depressing" and reached it back to me.

A while after that the Kerry Sister gave it to her and she read it and said it was "great". A lesser daughter would have been ripping but I'm used to Matty and her funny little ways. She tends not to trust any books I recommend after the unfortunate incident of Christmas 1976 when I gave her a book I'd previously read abridged in a magazine. Abridged means bits are left out. So how was I to know that the bits that were left out contained vivid descriptions of hot, steamy lesbian sex? In the version I'd read the two women were just good chums.

So, despite the Geldofian approval, I eventually got round to reading Star of the Sea. And I enjoyed it. I was talking to the Kerry Sister about the book and she told me that Joseph O'Connor is the brother of Sinead O'Connor. News to me indeed.

And when you get news you pass it on.

"Hey!" says I to Bert and Hannah, "D'ye know who your man Joseph O'Connor is the brother of?"

"No idea," says Bert. "Come on," says I, "Famous Irish person? O'Connor?"

Hannah pipes up, "Is it Des?" says she.

3 comments:

Scooter Deb said...

I read Star of the Sea last summer and found it sorely lacking in scenes of hot, steamy lesbian sex.

Nelly said...

And all the better for it say I!

Nelly said...

*scratches head and wonders if previous comment sounds homophobic, decides to elaborate*

And all the better for it, say I, for there are too many descriptions of unnecessary sex scenes in novels. Well there was in the seventies and eighties anyway. You got the impression that the person wrote the book first then grafted in the descriptive sex scenes at regular intervals on an editor's advice.