Ireland

Author: Frank Delaney
Narrated by: Frank Delaney

Originally published : 2005 (Harper Audio)
Length: 20 hours
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 4/5
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (108 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 650 ratings, 4.01 average rating

In the true spirit of storytelling, I listened to this on audio. It was a good choice--the author reads it brilliantly. He weaves Irish folk tales and historical accounts with the events in the life of the O'Mara family. Young Ronan O'Mara hears a traveling storyteller when he is nine, and it begins a quest both to learn the history and tales of Ireland and to find the storyteller himself, who always seems just out of Ronan's reach. Along the way he learns about himself, as well as some surprising things about his family.
I noticed on the back of the book that a couple of reviews resort to lists of adjectives to describe this novel:

"Dramatic, adventurous, heroic, romantic, slyly comic" (Philadelphia Inquirer)
"Gentle, poignant, charming, droll, tragic, triumphant, wise and unforgettable..." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

It's really hard to resist, because the author manages to include such a wide variety of material. "Sprawling" is the word that comes to my mind.

Try it out an audio. And, just a warning, I needed Kleenex at the end. I won't say if they were happy or sad tears.