No News at Throat Lake - Hardcover

Donegan, Lawrence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671785400 ISBN 13: 9780671785406

Publisher: Pocket Books, 2000

Synopsis

Lawrence Donegan's dream is a modest one, really. An intrepid journalist, acclaimed author, erstwhile pop-music star, and drolly anthropological social critic, Donegan longs for the quiet life, far from the crowds, filth, and all-around dreariness of big-city life. Here, then, is the hilarious, sharp-edged, and oddly touching account of one man's pursuit of his own private, seemingly simple escape to a tiny Irish town. Once he has carefully selected a wardrobe to suit such an ambitious urban exodus (boxer shorts or Y-fronts?), anguished over the perfect soundtrack for his sabbatical (Duran Duran or Blonde on Blonde?), and bidden extended farewells to fond friends (total time elapsed: six minutes), our hero is unmoored at last, faced with a seemingly limitless array of possible destinations. His choice? Where else but the exceedingly rural, and reputedly quaint, Irish village of Creeslough? After dabbling briefly-and bloodily-in the exotic world of Creeslough-style farming (he dubs his experience "Quentin Tarantino's All Creatures Great and Small"), Donegan decides to flex his bigcity writing chops. He lands a job at the Tirconaill Tribune, a blindly idealistic, libel-slinging tabloid run by two men and a dog. No News At Throat Lake is the charming story of a passionate love affair between the big-city hack and the small-time rag. It ponders the question that every foreigner wants to know about Ireland -- what's it like to live there, anyway? -- as well as some unexpected curiosities: Does Meryl Streep drink Guinness? What's it like to produce a newspaper with a dead body in the house? And what's the story behind Stinky, the dead whale? Sublimely funny and effortlessly hip, No News At Throat Lake is an altogether refreshing memoir of Irish life and times -- from one of the most wickedly observant talents writing today.

About this title

Review:

Giving up one's dream career as a pop star is one thing--understandable, in fact, if half of what they say is true--but giving up a second, successful career as a Guardian journalist--a post which you readily admit is the realisation of a life-time ambition--could be considered, er, hasty. Whatever, Scottish-born Lawrence Donegan, sometime bass guitarist with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, packs his notebook and, with nary a glance behind him, walks away from Farringdon Road to a new life in the remote, rural Irish village of Creeslough. Donegan, ay, to be sure, his very name it is that's brought him hot-footed back to delve into his hitherto little-known (and somewhat surprising) ancestry, soon blags his way into a reporter's job on the local Tirconaill Tribune. But then, for a newspaper that is often forced to give beached whales lead story status, the arrival in town of an ex-Guardian journo is not something that could in any way be described as uninteresting. The job is his, for little more than an hour or so's pitiful begging.

Alan Cumming, with his own Scottish accent and wonderfully lyrical Irish takes, makes a perfect reader of this beguiling, affectionate tale of a city lad who chooses to jump ship and get back to basics. As in any rural community, it is the brave, feisty and often outlandish inhabitants that make this audio book such a delight. Throw in a meeting with a powerful, despicable American politician and a Hollywood superstar, plus a disarmingly, hilarious account of Donegan's hugely unsuccessful foray into the complex, chaotic game of Gaelic football, and you're guaranteed to be smiling for almost all of No News at Throat Lake. --Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes --Carey Green

About the Author:

Lawrence Donegan was born in Scotland in 1961. Before joining London's Guardian as a journalist, he played bass guitar with two successful pop groups, the Bluebells and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Donegan is the acclaimed author of Maybe It Should Have Been a Three Iron, which was named the best book of the year by the U.S. Golf Association.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0671785400
• ISBN 13: 9780671785406
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 250