Carson, Ciaran - Richard Eder (essay date 12 March 1997)

Richard Eder (essay date 12 March 1997)

SOURCE: Eder, Richard. “The Songs That Play in Ireland's Soul.” Los Angeles Times (12 March 1997): E6.

[In the following review, Eder argues that Carson's digressions and reminiscences are the heart of his Last Night's Fun.]

The places in this evocation of musical Ireland [found in Last Night's Fun]: Carrickmacross, Cootehill, Carna. Innisbof, Cork City, Kilmallock, Verydarry, Sligo, Coolea, Ballyweird.

The breakfasts: “wavy bacon and the frilly-crisp, flipped-over eggs; the puckered burst seams of the sausages; the milk-tooth bits of fat in the black pudding … under a glaze of melted lard, ornamented by the fadge and soda cut in neat triangles.”

The times: The morning after the night before. The night before the morning after.

The tunes: “I Do Not Incline,” “The Hen's March O'er the Midden,” “The Lark in the Morning,” “What the Divil Ails Him,”...

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