Review
Uniquely, Howard isn’t Irish, nor even the proprietor of Irish roots. Yet his love for the Irish way of life is so authenti that it allows him to belong here. And his energy and a feeling of excitement for sharing his observations and perceptivenesses into Irish history and culture not only complements the natural pull that Ireland exerts on so many, but makes him a warm-hearted spokesperson for the sights, sounds, and smells that form it is magic. –Nuala O’Faolain, New York Times bestselling author of Are You Somebody?
An Irish Experience flows like a meticulously held travel journal. Franklin leads readers on a step-by-step wander – a personal journeying fueled by history, literature, and his incorrigible sweet tooth. –Dave Fox, author of Getting Lost: Mishaps of an Accidental Nomad and Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to get enjoyment from your trip)
About the Author
Howard G. Franklin was born in St. Joe, Missouri, in 1940. Raised in Los Angeles, he received his B.S. in Real Estate and Finance from the University of Southern California, and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
From 1968 to 1988, Howard served as a Deputy Public Defender for Los Angeles County, was engaged in the private exercise of law, and became a collaborator in F & F Investment Company.
His short stories and poetry have appeared on radio, in newspapers, and galore national magazines and literary journals such as A Different Drummer, Razem, the Lake Oswego Review, The Sandwich Generation, Silver Quill, Nomad’s Choir, Single Vision, and Poets and Work. He likewise has appeared as a guest poetical in Poetspeak’s Reading Series at Portland State University, and in the Northwest Coalition’s celebration of National Poetry Month in Vancouver, Washington.
For more selective information please visit howardgfranklin.com
Through this tantalizing travelogue the reader journeys north, west, south, and east to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the arousing and attention holding facets of a culture devised by 2000 years of history amongst a geographical wonderland. And spiced with generous helpings of humor, this adventure offers an experience comprised of art and architecture, song and dance, poetry, politics, and the warm-hearted persons who populate the Emerald Isle.
“It begins with brainwaves, an idea: I want to see Ireland. Then, like a tame breeze, enters emotion, a curious yearning, whispering: I need to see Ireland. Add imagination, and the lady is wearing a smile. A pretty smile. A coquettish smile.
All right. All right. So the lady is a country, you were expecting a romance maybe? Well, all right again, her name is Rachel and she lives in Sligo. But that’s it is own distinguished story, and for the moment the subject is beginnings, so as I was saying, the Lady is sporting a smile. Dressed in soft green velvet, her shoulders help a shawl of lakes and rivers and mountains. And around her neck curls a single strand of wedding-white pearls, one each for Dublin, Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Killarney, Cork, and Waterford.
On her left wrist dangles a gold bracelet, heavy with the charms of song and dance, art, and the four Nobel Prizes for Literature, all jingling sweetly under the littler Claddagh brooch nestled near her heart: two arms circling to join hands in friendship, then cradle a heart for love beneath the crown of loyalty, while in the center, twin emeralds sparkle to speak of the two Hs — History and Humor.”
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #954985 in Books
- Published on: 2008-03-01
- Original language: English
- Binding: Paperback
- 224 pages
Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
A Gem… as in Emerald
By Julie H. Todich
A dear friend of mine sent me this book a week before I went to Ireland. As I read it, I became even more excited to see the places Howard Franklin described. By the time we had landed in Ireland, the book was read and I had a list of the places I definitely wanted to see. Thank you Howard for writing about Glendalough. If I hadn’t read about it, I would have totally missed the wonders of this place! This book was our constant companion in our travels across this Emerald Isle. If it wasn’t in the car it was in my backpack, always close at hand so we could learn more about where we were. The snippets of history Howard interjected throughout his book is my favorite thing about it. I read these parts out loud to my husband as we traveled along the same path as Howard. Knowing the history of what we saw made it all so much more poignant. If you plan on visiting Ireland don’t leave home without this book!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Let’s talk about blarney….
By Susan Chute
Mr. Howard Franklin, I’m afraid, needs a serious sit-down with Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. This travelogue of Ireland in 2001 initially appealed because I had planned a trip to many of the same places as Mr. Franklin. But after awhile, the book becomes nearly unreadable, because it’s a relentless repetitive stream of superlatives and interjections, like “uh-huh” and “unh-unh, no way” and “Big Time!” and “We’re talking Total Treasure” and “How about that” and “I renew my appreciative gaze” and especially the verb “smile.” I don’t think there’s a page where he’s not smiling in some form or other. I found myself longing for a big roll of duct tape.
While some of the descriptions of landscapes and buildings and monuments are passable, Franklin rarely provides information of any historical depth about the places he visits, other than the recitation of a few names and dates. He almost never ventures into a museum. Mostly he just stands outside and looks around, offering up adjectives. That is, when he’s not satisfying his sugar cravings with the purchase of cakes, pastries, cookies and chocolate. Let me venture an understatement, as the author so often does: Mr. Franklin is addicted to sugar in more ways than one.
Another understatement: one might question his treatment of women.
It’s a pity, because his comparisons of Ireland and America as homelands, of the quality of life, the culture, and the resonance of history in both countries, are sound. They’re just hidden beneath unbearable prose. By all means, travel to Ireland. But leave Mr. Franklin behind.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.A True Delight!
By Gemma Whelan
Howard Franklin’s “An Irish Experience” is a true delight! It is a unique combination of travel writing, personal memoir, Irish history, and culture, and laced deliciously with Irish sweets!
I am originally from Ireland, and enjoyed reading about Howard’s impetus for the journey, the mysterious draw of Ireland, and the search for “home.” He captures poetically one of the things I prize most about my homeland–that sense of time being precious and people paramount. This book is a gem, both for those who have never been to Ireland and want a lyrical and informed introduction, and those of us from there, who can experience it again through such fresh, and fanciful eyes.
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