The Aran Islands (Marlboro Travel) - Softcover

Synge, John M.

3.8

985 ratings by Goodreads

9780810160248: The Aran Islands (Marlboro Travel)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810160242 ISBN 13: 9780810160248

Publisher: Marlboro Press, 1999

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In the late 1890s, John Synge, in his middle twenties and unsure of his vocation, made his way to Paris to study French literature and become a literary critic. There he met William Butler Yeats. The eminent poet advised Synge to drop his involvement with fin de si�cle French authors, return to Ireland, and describe a society with which he had a natural connection.

Synge first traveled to the primitive, little-known Aran Islands in 1898. His trip proved to be a wonderfully fruitful and decisive experience. He then went back for part of each summer until 1902. The Aran Islands, his memoir of those experiences, was published in 1907, and the future playwright called it his "first serious piece of work."

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Review:

Nothing much happens on the Aran Islands--at least, not much went on there in the late 19th century, when John Synge sailed out to these mist-shrouded, salt-sprayed, and wave-battered chunks of rocks south of Ireland. Therein lies the charm of the setting and of this lovely book, which captures the saltiness of both the marine air and the time-lost characters, who deeply believe in the magical "wee people." In cottages where nets and fishing tackle hang from beams, the women (who always wear red dresses and petticoats, as do some of the boys) sit at their spinning wheels or sew cow-skin sandals, while the fishermen spin yarns about fairies, sunken vessels, and bags of gold gained from adulterous wives. The big happening of the year is when roofs are rethatched--an event that blossoms into a festival with twisted rope stretching from kitchen table through lane to nearby field. Synge seems an ambassador from a different world: addressed as "noble person," he brings tokens of modernity--be they clocks or simple magic tricks that beguile the locals. First published in 1907, this re-released travelogue gives a poignant peek into another time and begs a visit to the Aran Islands to see how, or if, they have changed. --Melissa Rossi

From the Inside Flap:

Scotland has always done things its own way, and that is what akes the country's history so interesting. More than four thousand years ago, its Stone Age inhabitants were among the most advanced builders of Europe. About two thousand years ago, the Romans decided it was wiser to build a wall than attempt conquest. A thousand years ago, Scotland was one of the first medieval European kingdoms to emerge as a political unity from the Dark Ages. The decendants of those first Scots still inhabit the country. This original and immensely readable history charts the long, painful, sometimes tragic, often inspiring process that has formed the Scottish people of today. It reveals how the Scots' sense of nationhood has always been under test and how that pressure has shaped the ways in which they see themselves and are seen by others. A special and unique feature are the 'fact windows' in the text. They light up many fascinating aspects of the national story not normally covered in history books and present a range of outstanding people who at different times have played a part in Scotland's life and still-evolving history.

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