Never Pass a Bar That Has Your Name On It

[dotinthesky]

Pete McCarthy, McCarthy's Bar, 2002
This is a humorous - at times hilarious/laugh-out-loud funny/need to quote to the nearest person - travel book by an English man exploring his family ties to Ireland. Pete McCarthy travels across Ireland in the hopes of answering the question: "do I belong here?" Along the way, he paints the picture of a country that has changed due to a rapid economic boom - a place where the old and the new sit side-by-side in what seems to be a very tenuous balance.

Pete believes that one should always stop and have a drink in a pub that bears one's name. Since McCarthy is a popular surname in Ireland, he gets plenty of chances to sip the devil's brew while getting to know the local folk. This is, I suppose, how travel books should be written (if you discount the constant potshots at American and German tourists).

Comments

[margotmetroland.livejournal.com]

It is a very good book. He followed it up with "Road to McCarthy" then, tragically, died aged forty-something.

In a similar vein, have you read "Round Ireland With A Fridge" by Tony Hawks? If not, you should. Not as well-written as McCarthy, but the concept is hilarious.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

He died??? :-(

I think this may be the first travel book I ever read; I'll add Tony Hawks to my must read list. Would you recommed "Road to McCarthy" too?

[margotmetroland.livejournal.com]

Yes, sadly, about 2 or 3 years ago. Heart attack I think.

Road to McCarthy is good too, though it's been a while since I read it. Both McCarthy books and the first Tony Hawks book are good holiday/easy reads. The other Hawks books can be a bit crap, but his latest one, A Piano in the Pyrenees is a bit better.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

There's one travel book I've been meaning to read, about a writer to hires a donkey to cross the Pyrenees. Although she starts out meaning to write about that part of the world, the book ends up being about her relationship to the donkey! I can't remember its title tough.

[sallypointzero.livejournal.com]

Wot, Tony Hawks does shit-hot skateboarding travels too?

That's a great idea, him looping whilst writing informatively of all he sees