Lonely Planet Home With Alice: A Journey in Gaelic Ireland

Rating:
Summary: Intresting exploration into Gaelic Ireland
Review: Fallon's exploration of his Irish Gaelic roots makes for an interesting read. An Irish-American from Boston, he decides to learn Irish (Gaelic), and basically describes his efforts to learn and research the state of the language in modern Ireland, while at the same time pointing out some of the misconceptions between being "Irish" (i.e. American) and "Irish" (i.e. REAL Irish). He visits most of the areas of the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking regions), and what he finds doesn't seem to suggest (to me anyway), that the language is flourishing, despite major government efforts.

My main criticism is relatively minor. I would have liked to have a short chapter or appendix on the Irish language itself. Although he peppers his account with his attempts at Gaelic, there is no guide to pronounciation or general structure of the language. I'm not looking for a "Learn Irish in 20 lessons", but just a brief description to understand why it's so hard, etc.
The other criticism has to do with the periodic imaginary conversations with his aunt (Alice). They pop up now and then, and seem rather pointless. I don't think that's a bad idea, but he could have used it more strongly to explain differences between Irish-America, old and modern Ireland. Again, a minor quibble.
Overall, the subject matter is quite interesting, and Fallon writes well. If you're interested in Ireland and not just green beer and "erin go bragh" , it's highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: Steve Fallon's Home with Alice, A Journey in Gaelic Ireland is first-rate travel literature. The author achieves just the right balance of telling us about his personal journey to explore his roots in Ireland and telling us about the people and places of Ireland itself. Having not yet traveled to Ireland myself, by the end of the book I almost felt like I had already been there. The writing is crystal-clear, and even the passages in which the author conjures up the ghost of his Aunt Alice seem refreshingly honest. There is a lot in this book about the history of Ireland and about the linguistic structure of the Irish Gaelic language, but even the most arcane bits of information are presented in an entertaining and engaging style. For anyone with a passing interest in the Emerald Isle - and that's probably you if you're reading this review - I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you're like me, you'll pick it up, you won't be able to put it down, and you'll be sorry when it's over. In short, an all-around terrific book and a pleasure to read.