Tales from the Irish Club: A Collection of Short Stories

by Lester Goran

Book Overview

This collection of short stories contains 11 wry accounts of an enclave of Irish Americans in Pittsburgh during and after World War II. They are often comic, and sometimes tragic tales of Jack... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087338539X
• ISBN13: 9780873385398
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: Kent State University Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

a delightful find

I came across Mr. Goran while looking for Nadine Gordimer at my public library. As soon as I saw the title, I couldn't resist. While these are more portraits than stories, Mr. Goran's eye for the Irish American character (with all of its flaws and neuroses) is exquisite.

Tales from the Irish Club

Lester Goran does the term "literary fiction" proud. A master at the height of his writerly skills, this collection of short stories is utterly pleasurable to read. A wonderful book. Each story is perfect in its way. Writers and readers would do well to read his work.

Authentic Language & Feel For A Post-War America

While this collection of short stories is, at best, uneven there is no denying Mr. Goran's mastery of language and setting. These gifts alone give the stories a texture that make the collection a worthwile read.All the stories revolve around the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Irish Club, in postwar Pittsburgh. There is an attractive, understated tribal neighborliness to all the stories that not only feels real but gives flesh to such nonfiction think books as Ray Suarez's "What We Lost".The collection as a whole, could have been better edited and in some of the stories, Goran is not up to the task he sets himself, but the quiet tension in these stories has appeal.