Colm Tóibín ’s Imperial Gloss on the Irish Famine
Colm Tóibín ’s Imperial Gloss on the Irish Famine
Before I go on to criticise Colm Tóibín , I should stress that I believe his writing can sometimes reach the heights of great literature. His book on Henry James (
The Master, Picador, 2004) is indeed masterful and brings alive that great American storyteller like no other thing I have read on the author. In fact, it is so good that, whilst at a wedding in Rome recently, I sought out the
Hotel d'Inghilterra, where Henry James stayed whilst playing his part in the Anglo American literary scene in that magnificent city; a scene that Tóibín describes evocatively and with great insight. Along with its literary ambience, the old world chic and ornate decoration in the hotel makes a visit a must for anyone who is in Rome.
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Irish barstaff victims of new Danish slave trade
Understandably – the non Danish speaking or understanding world would have missed the shocking report that I noticed yesterday, whilst browsing on-line Danish news and current affairs sites. The headline read - "Irske bartendere ofre for menneskehandel" (Irish barstaff victims of trade in people trafficking). The article had been posted on the authoritative Danish investigative blog site “
Rokoko Posten” and can be read or viewed here -
http://rokokoposten.dk/2012/04/17/irske-bartendere-ofre-for-menneskehandel/
Below I have translated the article for the benefit of readers to show just what happens to a lot of our young people who have been forced to leave our shores for no other reason than the rapacious ravages of capitalism in crisis. It serves as a warning that even an ostensibly pro Irish (indeed almost obsessively and neurotically pro Irish) country like allegedly civilised Denmark can quickly become a place of nightmares and oppression for the unwary Irish immigrant.
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