Setting the Bar

Being that it is December and the holiday season is fast approaching, I’ve attempted to dedicate myself exclusively to the reading of seasonal literature.  An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor caught my eye while I was shopping in Target, so I picked it up and figured that it would be a good distraction from the stresses of the season.  And I was right!!!

I didn’t realize that this was a series, until about halfway through and when I did some research. However, one would never know that it was a series simply by reading the novel. You can read the novel and get an independent tale from it, without really having to read the previous books, although I would imagine that readers have more of an attachment to the characters if the previous novels in the series were read. In this novel, Doctor Barry Laverty, the junior partner in a very rural, Irish general medical practice, cannot wait for Christmas in Ulster County. His girlfriend, Patricia is due to come home and it’s the first holiday that he has spent in his new home. Even though he is looking forward to an amazing holiday, his time is kept solidly packed in dealing with seasonal coughs and colds with his partner, Doctor O’Reilly. Competition has also arrived in the form of a doctor that practices “quackery.” This leads to the question: can one very rural area support three general practitioners?

I do have to say that this was a book that I didn’t want to end. While I wouldn’t classify it as a work of great literature, it was a wonderful book to hunker down with in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa or a glass of red wine and just enjoy and unwind with at the end of a long, cold, dreary and snowy day. I savored every word, which was written in the Irish vernacular, and which I just couldn’t put down. It was charming and uplifting. I could count on it to make me feel warm and fuzzy, even on the worst of days.  I would recommend it for your holiday season, without hesitation.

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