Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

Due to the mountain of books on my ‘to read’ list, it isn’t often I revisit the same book twice – and definitely not without having many years in between. The Poor Mouth is an exception. The reason I decided to reread The Poor Mouth – or An Beal Bocht as it was originally called upon publication in 1941 – was because I have tried to recommend it to so many others, only to find myself in fits of laughter in front of a very puzzled audience.

Indeed this is not an easy one to properly explain. On the surface it’s straightforward enough. This is the story of Bonaparte O’Coonassa, born a Gael in Corkadoragha in the West of Ireland. He is born into a house built “in the corner of a glen on the right hand side as you go eastwards along the road”, besieged with bad weather, bad health and bad fortune; the fate of the true Gael.

A miserable tale you may think, but no, this is hilarious and quite often surreal. The Poor Mouth of the title is the way of the Irish; putting on the poor mouth – making out that things are worse off than they actually are so as to gain sympathy and an advantage. It is a way of tall tales, embroidering the truth and taking pride in hardship.

It was originally written in Irish and if there was ever a reason to relearn my native tongue this is it. So much of what can be said and understood in Irish simply cannot be translated. This is where the problem may lie for a non-Irish readership. The humour is an ingrained sort – we are laughing at ourselves and at parodies of ourselves. Some of the most repeated words in this novel are potatoes and rain.

The Poor Mouth does come a second to The Third Policeman as my favourite O’Brien book, but then The Third Policeman is one of my all time favourites.

This is a great satire and an Irish masterpiece. I do not think its like will ever be seen again.