Review of Venetia Kelly's Travelling Show by Frank Delaney and Giveaway

Product Description from Amazon



“She sprang from the womb and waved to the crowd. Then smiled and took a bow.” And so we first meet Venetia Kelly, the beguiling actress at the center of this new, spellbinding, and epic novel by Frank Delaney, the bestselling author of Ireland and Shannon.
January 1932: While Ireland roils in the run-up to the most important national election in the Republic’s short history, Ben MacCarthy and his father watch a vagabond variety revue making a stop in the Irish countryside. After a two-hour kaleidoscope of low comedy, Shakespearean recitations, juggling, tumbling, and other entertainments, Ben’s father, mesmerized by Venetia Kelly, the troupe’s magnetic headliner, makes a fateful decision: to abandon his family and set off on the road with Miss Kelly and her caravan. Ben’s mother, shattered by the desertion, exhorts, “Find him and bring him back,” thereby sending the boy on a Homeric voyage into manhood, a quest that traverses the churning currents of Ireland’s fractious society and splinters the MacCarthy family.
Interweaving historical figures including W. B. Yeats, and a host of unforgettable creations—“King” Kelly, Venetia’s violent, Mephistophelean grandfather; Sarah Kelly, Venetia’s mysterious, amoral mother; and even a truth-telling ventriloquist’s dummy named Blarney—Frank Delaney unfurls a splendid narrative that spans half the world and a tumultuous, eventful decade.
Teeming with intrigue, pathos, and humor, Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show explores two of Ireland’s great national passions: theater and politics. Writing with his signature mastery and lyrical prose, Frank Delaney once again delivers an unforgettable story as big and boisterous as the people and events it chronicles."


Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show is a beautifully written story about Irish families living in a very turbulent time in Ireland's history.The narrator, Ben MacCarthy is telling the story of what happens when his father deserts the family to follow this "traveling show" and the beautiful Venetia and her mother Sarah, who are the main actors. As Ben tells his story he often digresses, but this is a trait of the storytellers of Ireland, to stray off topic. At first the authors style of writing was hard to master but after awhile I got so immersed in the story that the digressions did not matter. At times heartbreakingly sad and often humorous this is a wonderful story about the lives and loves of very real people.The narrator has a way of pulling you into the story and not letting go. Full of colorful characters, good and bad and even a ventriloquist dummy named Blarney. I loved it!!!

To learn more about Frank Delaney you can go to the following links:

http://www.frankdelaney.com/

Frank's Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frank-Delaney/400446510051?ref=ts

Twitter- FDbytheword (where you can go to look at "365 writing tips" )

For those of you in the New York area Frank is hosting a "Reading, Talk & Signing" at Borders booksellers (461 Park Ave in NYC) on Monday, March 15 at 7:00 PM.

and now for the giveaway...
to enter for a signed copy of this great book you must do the following:
+5  Be a follower of my blogs ~ Blog O'The Irish and CelticLady's Reviews
+5 Post on your blog/ Twitter/Facebook this giveaway you only need to do one but let me know which you did
Giveaway open to U.S. entrants only and will end 3/31/10

I received this "signed" copy from the author for my honest review. I was not compensated monetarily for my opinion.

If interested in purchasing a copy of this book you can go here to Amazon but you are under no obligation to buy...