Requiems for the Departed reviewed

[realthog]

Requiems for the Departed, the anthology of crime stories inspired by Irish myths/legends, among which editors Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone foolishly included a tale of mine, has been reviewed on the Critical Mick blog.

Naturally I skipped past all of Critical Mick's opinions of other people's stories to the end of the review, my story having been placed last in the book perhaps in the hope that no one will get that far. Here's what he had to say:

"The Life Business" by John Grant

Memoir meets memory, the childhood crimes whose hammer blows and sharp chisels shape our adult lives. Grant's account of a summer camp on the banks of the Foyle, pre-Troubles, shines a beam far brighter than any Rupert Bear flashlight could cast. R4tD closes with a fantastic twist.

Critical Mick says: Requiems for the Departed: Irish Crime, Irish Myths showcases magnificent stories of Ireland immemorial and unforgettable. May a perpetual light shine upon this legendary collection.

Comments

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

Great review for a great story. :-)

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words. I'd forgotten you'd read it.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

You mean you didn't spend your youth in Borstal along with Brendan Behan?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

I didn't spend my youth with Brendan Behan at all.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Thus explaining your continued possession of a liver.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Thus explaining your continued possession of a liver.

Well, yes. But it's a bit loose.

As they say.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I thought you were a quare fellow rather than a scarperer.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

I thought you were a quare fellow rather than a scarperer.

Well, y'know, it was a matter of be there or be quare . . .

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Without a Rupert Bear flashlight, at that.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Too true, Benjy.

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

And those bastards didn't tell me about it? Damn.

But aren't most Irish Myths along the lines of "The Day Da Drank up All the Booze and Still Had Enough Energy to Run Away"?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

But aren't most Irish Myths along the lines of "The Day Da Drank up All the Booze and Still Had Enough Energy to Run Away"?

I dunno. I did the one about St Patrick driving out all the snakes.