The Dirty Dust

March 15, 2015

Backbiting is elevated to an art form in this first English translation of O Cadhain's (1906-70) Irish-language novel, first published in 1949. Translated by Titley (emeritus, Irish, Univ. Coll. Cork), the satiric work is preceded here by an informative introduction that offers a biography of O Cadhain, a description of the literary environment he worked in, thoughts on translating this novel and Irish-language works generally, and notes on the structure of the book. Titley also provides a list of characters in the novel, though these might alternatively be referred to as "voices," because the work is a lengthy conversation, or at least a series of thoughts and utterances, among the various people buried in a churchyard. Many of them didn't get along in life, or at best grudgingly accepted one another, and they exhibit a preoccupation, perhaps identifiable to people from small communities the world over, with what the neighbors think and who has the most prestige. The language, dead-on in its depiction of Hibernian Irish speech and depiction of rural folkways, is also at times humorous. The flashbacks can be confusing at first as there's no indication who is talking, but over time the reader will become familiar with the various speaker's grievances, obsessions, and stories. VERDICT Best for academics who are studying the Irish language (the translation indicates much about word order and choice) and the history and literature of Ireland.--Henrietta Verma, Library Journal

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