Carson, Ciaran - David Carr-Gomm (review date 31 March 2001)

David Carr-Gomm (review date 31 March 2001)

SOURCE: Carr-Gomm, David. “Hey Presto! and Abracadabra.” Spectator 286, no. 9008 (31 March 2001): 43-4.

[In the following review, Carr-Gomm praises Carson's Shamrock Tea as “a highly seductive book.”]

Shamrock Tea is a heady brew, both as a book and as a drink. This is a tale that doesn't really have a beginning or an end, and when it comes to describing it, it's hard to do it justice. On first sight it's a struggle, as you have to wade through the lives of endless mediaeval saints by whom the author is obviously fascinated. Before too long, however, he's smoothly moved you up a gear or two, and suddenly you're seeing the world through the same vivid kaleidoscope of colour as his characters. Set in Ireland in the mid-1950s, this tale revolves around a boy called Carson who discovers that he's been endowed with certain magical powers. These involve being able to enter the...

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