Tipperary by Frank Delaney

This review refers to an Advance Reader's Edition and may not reflect the final published edition. Relevant plot points are noted below, so be advised.

Tipperary Castle lives a life of its own as events unfold in this story: it sits decrepit, rotting and structurally unsound, it undergoes a magnificent renovation, and then it lies in ruins. Ironically, it is a metaphor for the novel, Tipperary, itself.

The primary fault in the novel revolves around an over-complicated and confusing narrative structure. The narrative voice switches among several people, all speaking in the first person, and across historical timeframes with little or no warning. The effect is particular jarring for the first half of the book where interruptions by the modern narrator are frequent and unnecessary. (i.e. We should "see" the history, not be given an irrelevant overview.) Still, there are the bones of a good story in the Charles O'Brien narrative. I liken this to pre-restoration Tipperary Castle.

Once the restoration of the castle begins, the narrative is allowed to progress a little more naturally, though still with multiple voices. Again, the modern narrator is interruptive, especially with his repetition of the other narratives. Despite that, the story becomes interesting and plot lines are fleshed out a bit. One actually starts to care about the outcome of the characters' lives. This I liken to Tipperary Castle in all its splendor.

In the end, however, the "modern narrator as character" plot device comes home to roost in the ruined shell of Tipperary Castle. The multi-faceted end to the unsuspenseful mystery of the modern narrator is laid out with the abruptness of a lightning strike on a roof. The novel lies in ruins.

The "historic" components of the story would be wonderful on their own, even presented as a series of letters and journal entries. The mysteries of the April Burkes and the characters' veiled personalities would have been so much richer, both in the set-ups and the revelations. As the novel currently stands, I cannot recommend it.

NOTE: Thank you to Random House and LibraryThing for the opportunity to review this book!

Originally posted @ LibraryThing on August 22nd, 2007.