An Irish Country Doctor: A Novel
Series: Irish Country, Book 1
By: Patrick Taylor / Narrated By: John Keating
Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
Aha! NEVER let the patients get the upper hand!
That’s the motto Barry Laverty is told immediately by Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly, and it takes him a loooong time to learn it. After all, Laverty comes from the civilized and urban world where people act properly, for heaven’s sake, so it’s all very disconcerting to see how Dr. O’Reilly treats the residents of the small countryside village of Ballybucklebo. His introduction is of the good Dr. bodily hurling a man from the medical practice for coming in with dirty feet. Surely that’s NOT the way to do things? Surely there are better ways to run a practice?
Turns out Barry has a lot to learn about the people of Ballybucklebo with their superstitions and sometimes, many times, backward ways.
Turns out Barry has a lot to learn about love, too!
An Irish Country Doctor is the first in the Irish Country series, and it’s a WONDERFUl introduction! It’s fun, smart, and it’s been likened to All Creatures, Great and Small in its depiction of endearing and colorful characters. There’s the sweet drunkard who truly believes that “rocking ducks” not rocking horses will be the Next. Big. Thing! There’s an old woman who lives alone with only her cat, the irascible General, who may be pining for the old man down the way, him with only his dogs for company. There’s the Major and his wife, who Barry must learn a hard lesson from. And there’s Patricia, a young woman determined to make it in the world by becoming one of the very few female civil engineers.
Add to that the mystery an unwed pregnant servant girl poses, and how Barry and Dr. O’Reilly have to navigate THAT (the story, after all, takes place in Ireland during the time of The Beatles), and you’ve got one winner of a book!
And what more can ya say about John Keating as a narrator?!? The man is fantastic, and I giggled and chortled my way through all the Ballybucklebo hijinks, what with the parades devolving into near riots, and many a drunkard getting either hammy or pugilistic. Plus, he really adds life in his depictions of the dog, Arthur Guinness, and the cat, Lady Macbeth. What a hoot!
A word of warning, however. There is a smattering of profanity throughout the book, as the inhabitants of the village are no saints, and there is ALWAYS a pint to be had. But it’s all in good fun, just don’t be shocked that drunken people can swear like sailors.
I know, I know. It’s never good when you’re doing an audiobook review site to go haring off to the next in a series; must spread things out and all; must cover a variety of books to be sure.
But by gosh! I’m DYING to spend a credit on Book 2!!!
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