Juilene Osborne-McKnight

An Irish teacher wrote this book about Ireland’s history and it’s obvious. It’s well-researched and written, and most importantly it’s very interesting. I learned so much from the basic—who were the Celts? to the more recent—Ireland was neutral in WWII. I knew the English hadn’t treated Ireland well but I didn’t know the extent, and that the infamous potato famine was the result of onerous laws passed by the British government, which refused to undo the harm and instead the English people stepped up to volunteer and donate food and money during the crisis and tried to mitigate all the harm. I was dumbfounded at the centuries of abuse heaped on Ireland. I struggled with the narration by the author. The words were enunciated so much I struggled to listen to it. So I just kept speeding it up. But very glad I finished it; it’s an excellent book.… (lisätietoja)

Una leyenda celta
Juilene Osborne-McKnight
Publicado: 1998 | 275 páginas
Novela Aventuras Fantástico

«Una leyenda celta» narra la apasionante historia de san Patricio de Irlanda. A mediados del siglo V, el obispo malvive en una pequeña comunidad de monjes, empeñado en predicar y convertir al cristianismo a una población belicosa y pagana. Pero Padraig, como le llaman sus feligreses, no comprende el alma del pueblo que intenta evangelizar, por lo que sus esfuerzos no se ven recompensados. Sin embargo, todo cambiará con la llegada de Osián, descendiente de una estirpe de guerreros legendarios, los Fian, y subyugante narrador de historias. Y de la mano de Oisán, Padraig realizará un itinerario espiritual y geográfico a través de las leyendas, mitos, acontecimientos y creencias de una tierra y un pueblo singulares. Una excepcional novela en la que la autora amalgama el rigor de los hechos históricos con la sugerente poesía que impregna toda la cultura celta.… (lisätietoja)

This is a decently good book set during the reign of Cormac Mac Art, the Irish King credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. It is told from the point of view of an orphaned young woman raised in the Druid tradition and her role during these transitional years.

She rescues a young girl who was taken as "booty" during a cattle raid out of her abusive situation, and while she battles the girl's captor she meets another traveller who is the ollamh, the master poet of the King. He also happens to be someone from her past and a trained Fenian warrior.

Aislinn brings the girl to safety with the help of this Fenian and poet, Eoghan, who for mysterious reasons does not take his father's name as his surname. And when she is safely with the Deisi tribe, they will not tell her the truth of her own parentage. These mysteries grow and cause problems between Aislinn and her beloved, which are all brought to light in the court of Cormac Mac Art at the height of the Court of Tara.

There were some elements of this book I did not like: Aislinn alternates between wishy-washy and a ferocious Irish woman in a way that seems more necessary to move the plot forward than one that serves good characterization. In addition, the triumph of one religion over another within a few years is always problematic, and I definitely did not like the portrayal of the Druids once Cormac mac Art took up the mantle of Christianity.

Still, it presents the introduction of writing into Ireland and other historical turning points in its history to the general public, as well as the way of life of the peoples of Ireland in this time.… (lisätietoja)