An Irish Country Village - (Irish Country Books) by Patrick Taylor (Paperback)

About the Book

This highly readable ("Publishers Weekly") sequel to the "New York Times" bestseller "An Irish Country Doctor" follows the trials and exultations of Dr. Barry Laverty as he begins his assistantship to Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly in Balleybucklebo, a fictional Irish Ulster village of the 1960s.

Book Synopsis

Patrick Taylor first charmed readers with An Irish Country Doctor, a warm and enchanting novel in the tradition of James Herriot and Jan Karon. Now Taylor returns to the colorful Northern Ireland community of Ballybucklebo, where there's always something brewing beneath the village's deceptively sleepy surface.

Young Doctor Barry Laverty has only just begun his assistantship under his eccentric mentor, Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, but he already feels right at home in Ballybucklebo. When the sudden death of a patient casts a cloud over Barry's reputation, his chances of establishing himself in the village are endangered, especially since the grieving widow is threatening a lawsuit.

Not all their challenges are medical in nature. When a greedy developer sets his sights on the very heart of the community, the village pub, it's up to the doctors to save the Black Swan (affectionately known to the locals as the "Mucky Duck") from being turned into an overpriced tourist trap. After all, the good citizens of Ballybucklebo need some place to drink to each other's health....

Whether you've visited in the past, or are discovering Ballybucklebo for the first time, An Irish Country Village is an ideal location for anyone looking for wit, warmth, and just a touch of blarney.

Review Quotes

"Highly readable... Detailed medical procedures of the era are fascinating to a modern reader... The book, with its spot-on dialects and neatly tied endings, largely succeeds as light entertainment." --Publishers Weekly on An Irish Country Village

"Full of stories and vivid characters, the novel recalls a good night in a pub. Its greatest charm lies in homey Ulster idioms.... Good, light entertainment." --Booklist on An Irish Country Village

"An Irish Country Doctor makes for escapist, delightful fun." --Publishers Weekly

"Ballybucklebo is an easy place for readers to sink into, with likable characters and atmospheric dialogue." --Kirkus Reviews on An Irish Country Doctor

About the Author

Patrick Taylor, M.D., is the author of the Irish Country books, including An Irish Country Doctor, An Irish Country Christmas, An Irish Country Girl, and An Irish Country Courtship. Taylor was born and raised in Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland. After qualifying as a specialist in 1969, he worked in Canada for thirty-one years. He now lives on Saltspring Island, British Columbia.