Review of Books

    William P. Sexton’s Escape From Barbados chronicles the dramatic journey of Sean Tierney, a Limerick swordsman who is captured from his home by Cromwell’s army one night in 1662. Delving into a somewhat neglected area of Irish history, Sexton’s narrative follows Sean as he is taken aboard a slave ship and transported to a plantation in Barbados, just as thousands of Irish were forcibly taken and enslaved during those years. Determined to go home, Sean sets out on a thirty-five-year quest to return to Ireland, encountering many new places and people, which are strange to him. Though he winds up in some dire situations, his “fighting Irish spirit,” as Sexton calls it, always sees him through. His adventure is a fast-paced, easy read.
– Sheila Langan
(105 p. / O’Séasnain / $12.99)

    With a plethora of titles such as An Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Bloody Irish: Great Irish Vampire Stories under his belt, few authors seem more fitting to address the spread of Celtic mythology across North America than Bob Curran. Curran provides a series of Celtic legends and their American counterparts in his new book, Mysterious Celtic Mythology in American Folklore. Told with whimsy and allure, conveyed akin to campfire tales, the book covers all manner of hauntings and forgotten lands, shape shifters and witches, leaving intace their extravagances. Familiar ground is not laboriously tread, keeping the book’s pace fluent and intriguing. Their great variety illustrates Curran’s extensive knowledge.
    Essentially, if you’re craving a fascinating tour through the enigmatic and far-reaching influence of Celtic mythology, this addition to Curran’s bibliography will satisfy, and perhaps deliver a few chills along the way.
 – James Lovett
(296 p. / Pelican / $25.00)

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