- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd (25 May 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0285635611
- ISBN-13: 978-0285635616
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.2 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,184,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
A Celtic Childhood
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
""A Celtic Childhood" is a lovely memoir that reads as if you're sitting at the feet of a grandfather full of stories! This book is full of charming vignettes and hilarious antics." --Compass Book Ratings (formerly Squeaky Clean Reads)
"Deserves to be read for its own brilliance...laugh-out-loud funny...Watkins' tales make for pure reading pleasure." --"Publishers Weekly", starred review
.".. Will appeal to all people who enjoy music and myths and a wee bit of mischief." --"San Antonio News Express"
"A memoir that will remind some of "Angela's Ashes"--except this one is laugh-out-loud funny." --"St. Paul Pioneer Press"
"Watkins' work stands out because of the quality of the writing and the underlying humor behind the facts." --"Irish Voice"
"Guaranteed Good Read: As entertaining as "Angela's Ashes" or your money back!" --HarperCollins Australia
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
The Irish gift for story-telling is given free rein in this lyrical, hugely entertaining account of growing up in Limerick and the heart of rural England during the 1950s. With humour and charm, Watkins blends history, song and his strong Celtic roots into a rollicking tale of merriment, mischief and misadventures that seem to infect not only his entire family, but everyone he knows. There is his soldier father, refused entry to Ireland for trying to bring his son a gift of fireworks, and later sacked from his job as a fire extinguisher salesman after setting fire to potential salesman after setting fire to a potential customer's hat; Uncle Sean whose spheraphobia prevents him from eating anything round; Mr Bury the science master, whose special effects for the school nativity play prove all too realistic; and Grandad Watkins whose defiant act before dying of alcoholism is to swallow the secret key to his Masonic trunk. From nights of poetry, music and laughter round the Limerick fireside to terrifying ghost-huting expeditions in a Warwickshire mansion; from illegal activities with a ham radio to being kicked out of Ireland for vagrancy - Watkins' boyhood pranks are told in rich, expressive prose that never flags. With a keen sense of rhythm and cadence that stems from the Celtic oral tradition, this is a book that sings on the page.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"A Celtic Childhood" is a very funny book about Bill Watkins' childhood in Ireland, England and Wales. This very well written narrative is jam packed with hilarious tales of his naughty childhood, catholic schooling, and forthright atheist father. There are also some moving tales about his family, growing up, and the history of the Celtic People.
The last quarter of the book, describing Bill Watkins' adolescence and very young adulthood is less slightly less funny, but equally interesting and an important part of the story.
As with "Scotland is not for the Sqeamish", there is an explanation at the start of all the unusual terms used in the book. There is also a sprinkling of myth and mythology spread throughout.
I read this book on the bus to work over a short period and received many inquiring looks for laughing out loud. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about people.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am the Dutch translator of this book, and rarely have I enjoyed my work so much. Bill Watkins writes about his early years in a way which reminded of my own childhood, he has really been able to capture the wondering eyes of a bright child. The combination of fun and wisdom plus a taste of Celtic history throughout the book, and all this in precious language, make this book into a worthwhile piece of literature.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
17 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A book that will resurrect the spirit of impish youth
23 Nov 1999
Format:Hardcover
I was first recommended this book by a friend. Having already read Frank McCourt's 'Angela's Ashes' I was wary of what I assumed to be something of a similar subject matter. However I was pleasantly surprised. Rather than attempting to invoke a feeling of guilty depression upon the reader, Watkins book celebrates both the joys of growing up (many of us share the memory of a childhood that was poor AND happy)and the tenacious nature of the Celtic spirit without falling into the repetitive downward spiralling plot of AA. The overall mood is a positive one that involves the reader through rich descriptions and even a glossary to help with the cosmopolitan use of language. It is certainly a book that you can go back to and as a good book of this type should do, it leads the reader to fresh ground. I found myself wanting to know more of the historical and mythical characters alluded to in the text. If this is to be the first work of a trilogy I can only hope the best is yet to come!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
The Anti Angela's Ashes
8 Mar 2000
Format:Hardcover
Given the timing and subject matter of Bill Watkins' "A Celtic Childhood," comparisons to Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis" are inevitable.While the similarities are evident, Watkins' and McCourt's styles are far from identical.
While McCourt's stories are humorous, they focus on the hardships of growing up poor in Ireland, seemingly from the point of view of an adult looking back on the past. Watkins, on the other hand, tells humorous stories that mention the hardships of his youth matter-of-factly, and is able to take on the point of view of the child describing the present.
Watkins' vivid imagination and gift for language are quite apparent in this memoir. The fantasies he created for himself as a child (and often acted out) are wonderful, whether he be Biggles the World War I aviator or the leader of a pack of American gangsters.
What stands out for me in this book is the relationship Watkins, as an only child, had with his parents (and other adult relatives). His mother is a woman of great creativity and salty language, while his father is a bit of a tosspot and ne'er-do-well who loves his son and imparts great knowledge of things scientific, philospohical and historical.
Watkins has the eye of the keen observer, always alert, missing nothing, and the ability to describe what he has observed with very creative uses of language.
I recommend this book strongly to fans of humor, memoir, and all things Irish. Watkins reportedly plans a trilogy, of which this is the first volume. (The second will allegedly be called "Scotland is Not for the Squeamish.") I can't wait to read it!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
A Celtic childhood
24 Nov 1999
Format:Hardcover
Bill puts a smile on your face every time you meet him. A Celtic childhood is an example of his exceptional wit and charisma ! Its a joy to have this book being Irish, I'm from Co. Limerick - what a great christmas present for the folks back home. Keep um coming Bill !
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