O’KELLY, SEUMAS. Golden barque; and The weaver’s grave. *$1.75 (4c) Putnam
The longest tale in this collection, “The weaver’s grave,” describes an ancient graveyard “Cloon na Morav,” the meadow of the dead. So ancient is it that to have a right of burial there amounts to a pedigree. It is only the weaver, newly dead, and one survivor, Malachi Roohan, the cooper, who still have that right. On two other ancient inhabitants of the town devolves the task of finding the weaver’s grave. It is a well-nigh hopeless quest, related with insight and weird humor. The rest of the book, under the heading “The golden barque” consists of: Michael and Mary; Hike and Calcutta; The haven; Billy the clown; The derelict; The man with the gift.
+ Ath p31 Ja 2 ’20 130w
“Slight plots, delightful people and the characteristic Celtic humor.”
+ Booklist 17:159 Ja ’21
“‘The golden barque’ is so finely and purely Irish that it is doubtful whether a child could make the most of it. But these are tales with so much literary and poetic quality that it would be unfortunate not at least to give the child a chance.”
+ Ind 104:380 D 11 ’20 40w
“There is an indescribable charm in these two Irish stories, which is attributable to the manner in which they are told, rather than to any extraordinary merit in plot and action.”
+ N Y Times p19 N 7 ’20 460w