It finally occurred to me why 'TIS wasn't nearly as good as ANGELA'S ASHES: the smashing success of the latter left Frank McCourt in such high blurbing demand, he simply couldn't devote that much time to writing its sequel.

Think about it. It makes sense. Be it fiction, memoirs, biographies, poetry, essays, short stories, cultural/political/religious studies, self-help, how-to, or cookbooks, if it's Irish themed or the product of an Irish/Irish-American author, you can be sure that Frank McCourt was the first person asked to lend a "critical eye." There is a certain amount of legitimacy conferred upon a book that has been blessed with a McCourt blurb --- he's like the Pope of the Irish literary world.

One of the most recent books that McCourt's stamp of approval has appeared on is FOR THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY: A Thousand Years of Ireland's Heroes by Terry Golway, a highly respected journalist whose publication credits include The New York Observer, Irish Echo, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times. A sweeping, insightful, yet entirely readable survey of the past 1,000 years of Irish political history, Golway's study specifically illuminates the evolution of Irish nationalism under that omnipresent albatross we all know and love: colonial oppression (a PC term for English megalomania). As "feel-good" a story as one can hope for when the subject is Ireland's struggle for political and cultural autonomy, FOR THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY pays tribute to both the legendary and long overlooked revolutionaries whose relentless patriotism brought about significant changes in Ireland's history. McCourt calls it "[a] perfect book," so who am I to argue.

Perhaps the least genre-specific blurber on the face of the planet, McCourt's name and rank also graces the cover of Denis Hamill's latest, FORK IN THE ROAD --- a book that bares as much resemblance to FOR THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY as Prince Charles does to Gerry Adams. An established thriller writer, American-born Hamill went out on a limb with this explicitly sexual and violent tale of two ill-fated lovers set against the backdrops of contemporary Dublin and New York. Soon to be a major motion picture from director Barry Levinson --- now there's a real shocker…a story set in the seedy underbelly of Dublin, chock full of gratuitous sex and violence, not to mention alcoholism, incest, and kleptomania, being turned into a movie --- FORK IN THE ROAD is the kind of book that, in the words of the undisputed king of Irish book-cover pith, "[h]ooks you and keeps you to the end."

So, what's an up and coming Irish author to do if he/she cannot land a quote from the mighty McCourt? Two words: Roddy Doyle. Author of THE SNAPPER, THE COMMITMENTS , and the Booker-prize winning PADDY CLARKE, HA, HA, HA, Doyle is a critically acclaimed, highly respected Irish writer. The catch, of course, is that his books don't make a beeline for the bestseller list the way McCourt's twin tomes did. So, despite being fairly prolific, he's not a household name, which, in the high-profile/cut-throat world of book blurbing, leaves Doyle seeming like the poor-man's McCourt. A ridiculous state of affairs, really. Roddy Doyle is nobody's sloppy seconds!

I do hope Colum McCann, author of EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST: A Novella and Two Stories, realizes this. A brief (150 pages or so) but probing and precise collection, the three narratives of EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST share a common theme: the profound and lasting effects of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland. And while this topic is certainly well-worn, McCann, unlike many of his contemporaries, never even comes close to lapsing into lowbrow cheap thrills, exploitation, or cliché. Undoubtedly, EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST is deserving of its short-n-sweet back-cover quote courtesy of Doyle --- "Excellent…this is a powerful and moving collection." I just pray McCann wasn't devastated when McCourt said his blurbing plate was full and maybe to try Roddy Doyle.

Actually, Nuala O'Faolain, the new darling of Irish lit, has been nipping at the heels of both McCourt and Doyle for the honor of "Most Sought-after Blurber." McCourt authored the front-cover blurb on her first book, the best-selling memoir ARE YOU SOMEBODY?; and now, coming full circle with her sophomore effort, the critically acclaimed and wildly popular MY DREAM OF YOU, O'Faolain is being honored with prominent blurbs of her own. One particularly notable book on which O'Faolain is proudly quoted is IRISH AMERICA: Coming Into Clover: The Evolution of a People and a Culture by Maureen Dezell. Fed up with the alcoholic and bafoony image of Irish-Americans being perpetuated by drunken frat-boys swilling green beer and kitsch addicted tourists sporting "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" accoutrements, Dezell made it her personal mission to debunk these stereotypes. A journalist by profession, she incorporates textbook history, personal interviews, and hard-nosed reporting into this entertaining and thoughtful study. Indeed, O'Faolain is dead on when she calls IRISH AMERICA: Coming into Clover a "sparkling and shrewd portrait of a culture in transition." And it makes perfect sense that O'Faolain should review this book, what with both women being journalists and all, but still I wonder if Dezell first took her opus to McCourt, who politely declined…

There also exists an entire species of critically acclaimed, top-selling books whose covers are conspicuously devoid of blurbs from the typically accessible and oft-quoted McCourt, Doyle, and O'Faolain. Two fine examples of this tragically neglected breed are ROUND IRELAND WITH A FRIDGE by Tony Hawks and MCCARTHY'S BAR: A Journey of Discovery in the West of Ireland by Pete McCarthy ? Both books are smart, innovative, entertaining and, in their own special ways, insightful. As such, one can only assume that The Big 3 tend to shy away from such quirky works because, being blurb-snobs, they feel any public association with them would undercut their legitimacy as true literarians. I mean, can you imagine earnest and thoughtful O'Faolain offering up an "I laughed so hard I nearly spilled my Guinness" for the cover of MCCARTHY'S BAR?

So what, exactly, does all this mean? Nothing really. I just thought it would be a "clever, funny, observant, mildly thought-provoking way to present the annual St. Patrick's Day Book Round-up."

--- Sarah Brennan, Bookreporter.com (U. S.)

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