Review: The Crock of Gold

The Crock of Gold
by James Stephens

Plot Summary:

Meehawl MacMurrachu's old skinny cat kills a robin redbreast on the roof one day, forging the first link in a long, peculiar chain of events. For the robin redbreast is the particular bird of the Leprecauns of Gort na Gloca Mora, and the Leprecauns retaliate by stealing Meehawl MacMurrachu's wife's washing-board, and Meehawl asks the Philosopher who lives in the center of the pine wood called Coilla Doraca for advice in locating the washboard...and the chain leads on and on, up to Angus Og himself and to the country of the gods. Unique and inimitable, this is one of the great tales of our century.

Review:

An intriguing blend of Irish folklore, philosophy and poetic thoughts, this novel was a very interesting read.  On the one hand, I was very taken by it's atmosphere and the straightforward whimsy of the characters and their issues.  I am not very familiar with Irish folklore and I wonder if that would have helped me  appreciate this story better, as I did find it a little too leisurely in pace, and sometimes the characters seemed unsympathetically ridiculous.  Although the writing is beautiful it is very specific in it's lyrical power, and I was not always as appreciative of the digressions at the expense of plot, even when I recognized that this was a very artistic decision.  I picked up this story to read because I read once that it was Gene Kelly's favorite book, and because of that I was very interested in finishing the novel.  It is definitely unique, and if you have any interest in Irish folklore, I think this will be a great read for you.

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