Criticism > Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism > Brennan, Maeve - Robert Kiely (essay date 4 August 1974)

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Robert Kiely (essay date 4 August 1974)

SOURCE: Kiely, Robert. “Maeve Brennan at Home and Abroad.” New York Times Book Review (4 August 1974): 5-6.

[In the following essay, Kiely states that the Irish stories in Christmas Eve are far superior to the American stories in the volume.]

To collect and publish stories written over a period of 20 years is a risk for any author. Readers can hardly avoid making comparisons, noticing inconsistencies and remarking the slightest signs of unevenness. In the case of Maeve Brennan, the risk is particularly great because of the sharp distinction in the subject matter of her stories. Roughly half of the works in this new volume [Christmas Eve] by the New Yorker writer are American—upper-middle-class exurban New York; the other half are Irish—lower-middle-class County Wexford. Perhaps some contrast is intended between the styles and values of the two cultures. If so, the point...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. John Updike (review date October 1969)
   2. Helen Rogan (review date 1 July 1974)
   3. Robert Kiely (essay date 4 August 1974)
   4. Jay Parini (review date 14 December 1997)
   5. Ambrose Clancy (review date 23 March 1998)
   6. Linda Barrett Osborne (review date 20 February 2000)
   7. Michael Porter (review date 26 November 2000)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright