If you are already a reader of The Irish Country Doctor books, you only need to recognize the author’s name to pounce on this collection of early stories, crowing and chortling with justified anticipation of delights. If you’ve never heard of Patrick Taylor, you are in for a treat, if you like character-driven humor. Or medical humor. Or slapstick comedy, blithe exaggeration, tomfoolery, and showmanship. These are the early stories that formed the basis for the Irish Country Doctor novels, and they are gems.
The narrator a long-suffering junior doctor, is an assistant to a local GP who is, to put it mildly, a character. Irascible, fond of his beer and his whiskey, Doctor Fingal O’Reilly is larger than life. He suffers fools not at all, but has God’s own compassion for the ordinary women, men and children who are his neighbors and clients.
The secret charm of Fingal O’Reilly is his vast, underlying competence. Without it, he’d be a mere blusterer. He’s had a naval career, he’s been a pugilist and has the nose to show for it he is widely read and is an astute practitioner of Asclepius’ art. He will stand up to anybody, recognizing and respecting only genuine exousia, despising utterly mere conventional, inbred ‘authority.’
The self-effacing narrator plays Doctor Watson to this choleric Holmes, passing on what the Great Man says and does, sometimes with commentary that catches you off guard and rolls you to the floor.
If you are very, very lucky, you have a relative or friend like Fingal O’Reilly. If not, you can console yourself with these stories. And be sure to read the Author’s Note, which contains such gems as, “When an Ulsterman goes to sea, strange things happen. We, after all, built the RMS Titanic.” You don’t have to be Irish yourself to love these stories, and these characters, you just have to be human. Being part Irish is a bonus. ~~ Chris R. Paige
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