Tarry Flynn was Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh's only novel May saw the Tyneside Book Club tackle Tarry Flynn, Patrick Kavanagh's semi-autobiographical novel about life as a young farmer in a small Irish community.
Tarry Flynn is nearing 30, but is still very much at the beck and call of his mother. His life is rooted in the landscape he farms, but is also about the vain pursuit of young women.
For members with strong links to Ireland, this novel proved to be a very evocative and faithful portrait. Although set in the 1930s and 1940s, the rural community it described lived on intact well into members' lifetimes.
There was much humour to enjoy and a range of eccentric characters, but also a real sense of Tarry Flynn's connection with the land. You could sense this was a poet's eye view of the Irish countryside.
It also though exposed for many the closed off, claustrophobic, small-minded world of this part of rural Ireland, something which limited the horizons of many who lived there. Tarry's sheltered upbringing him made him feel much younger than his age. The centrality of the Roman Catholic church to life was accurately portrayed. Nevertheless it didn't prevent Tarry relentlessly pursuing the opposite sex. with very little success.
For some members though, the book lacked incident and tension. Elements you thought might lead to some drama and plot development fizzled out. Some therefore found it difficult to engage with and care about the fate of Tarry and the other characters. It just became one thing after another, rather than a coherent work.
Some suggested that Kavanagh may be less known on this side of the Irish Sea because his work has a specific cultural resonance in Ireland which might not travel as well outside of that culture.
Nevertheless, there was much to enjoy in Kavanagh's use of language and dialect, and a bond with the landscape that may have been lost in the present day.
Tarry Flynn is nearing 30, but is still very much at the beck and call of his mother. His life is rooted in the landscape he farms, but is also about the vain pursuit of young women.
For members with strong links to Ireland, this novel proved to be a very evocative and faithful portrait. Although set in the 1930s and 1940s, the rural community it described lived on intact well into members' lifetimes.
There was much humour to enjoy and a range of eccentric characters, but also a real sense of Tarry Flynn's connection with the land. You could sense this was a poet's eye view of the Irish countryside.
It also though exposed for many the closed off, claustrophobic, small-minded world of this part of rural Ireland, something which limited the horizons of many who lived there. Tarry's sheltered upbringing him made him feel much younger than his age. The centrality of the Roman Catholic church to life was accurately portrayed. Nevertheless it didn't prevent Tarry relentlessly pursuing the opposite sex. with very little success.
For some members though, the book lacked incident and tension. Elements you thought might lead to some drama and plot development fizzled out. Some therefore found it difficult to engage with and care about the fate of Tarry and the other characters. It just became one thing after another, rather than a coherent work.
Some suggested that Kavanagh may be less known on this side of the Irish Sea because his work has a specific cultural resonance in Ireland which might not travel as well outside of that culture.
Nevertheless, there was much to enjoy in Kavanagh's use of language and dialect, and a bond with the landscape that may have been lost in the present day.
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