larkin about in ireland

'Home is where the harp is...' 'An Irish writer's pilgrimage to a homeland he has never lived in'
"John Larkin travels to Ireland in search of his spiritual home, the one his father had left behind in the fifties. Instead, he finds a nation undergoing tremendous change: from poor to rich, religious to secular, leprechauns to boy bands. Ireland is on the move, cutting deals, talking bollocks on mobile phones.
It's a hilarious and often poignant journey up Croagh Patrick, the holies of holy mountains, around The Ring of Kerry, to Knock, home to the tackiest souvenir shops in the world (and an apparition of The Blessed Virgin), and into pubs where the locals still end their days in a lively fall off a bar stool."
256 pg, paperback, 0733613985

This is the first John Larkin book I actually bought (though not the first I read) and it's MINE! I bought it, it's on MY shelf! This is opposed to the John Larkin books that MAY AS WELL BE MINE... but which are actually the library's and severely overdue by now...
What can I say... this is quite a different book to Larkin's other stuff, obviously having been written for someone a bit older-- though if that discludes fourteen year olds, then I take that back-- and being a travel memoir and stuff. Travel in the real, physical, non-time-warp world, that is, although having read the book more recently, I wouldn't say that Ireland isn't a non-time-warp place... in any case, there's no doubt it's written by John Larkin. It says so on the cover. And it does have his sense of humour all over it :)
(I'm still laughing at 'Icky. Icky. Icky mud.' That cracks me up everytime, for reasons I have long forgotten. Buy the bloody book and find out what I'm talking about!)

Reviews by other people:

Mark Young from bentbooks.com said:
I loved this book, to be sure. Of course my father, like the author's, is Irish and I also share his attunement to comedy, meaning and a sorrowful life. John Larkin travels to Ireland and the UK in search of his heritage, serendipity and local camaraderie. Like Brisbane author, John Harms, his quest is rewarded with magic moments, mixed with 'bollocks' and 'shite', as well as laid-back adventures up mountains, through rain and across cultures. Larkin is a stand-up comedian and novelist, showing an affinity with the well-mannered blokey style of Ben Elton and the absurd comic twist of the late Douglas Adams. "Larkin about in Ireland" is a great St. Patrick's read and is sure to be read aloud with Guinness, port or lemonade.

Good Reading Magazine said:
"Meet the man who tried to murder Skippy! John Larkin's outrageous account of his pilgrimage to Ireland makes for an hilarious read. The country of his forbears doesn't offer all the answers to his searching life questions, but it does provide fertile ground for his very special blend of humour - dry, Aussie humour heavily laced with a biting black Irish wit.
Nothing is safe - family, the church, mobile phone owners - all come in for a thorough going over. It's all lovely off-the-cuff stuff, strung together effortlessly and very, very funny. What really gives the book wings though, is the sense of loss and displacement that runs beneath the laughter. The old Ireland is passing, the land his father knew has gone. Without this underpinning the book wouldn't resonate in the way it does. Larkin is an established author for young readers. This is his first work of non fiction - let's hope there's much more to come. If you like your sacred cows un-kicked then perhaps this isn't for you. If you're up for a really good laugh, look no further"

Sydney Morning Herald said:
"I read the entire book with a warm silly smile fixed on my face."

The Star said:
"pure fun- a sheer delight"

North Shore Times said:
"hilarious, occasionally though-provoking and always entertaining"