“Where Lagan stream sings lullaby there grows a lily fair.
The twilight gleam is in her eye, the night is on her hair.
And like a lovesick lenanshee, she hath my heart in thrall;
Nor life I owe, not liberty, for Love is Lord of all.”
Lagan Love is a beautiful beginning for Peter Murphy. A story rich with Ireland politick as it aspires to a prosperous future. The detail alone in the background of the story called upon me to look up more information on the history of Ireland and how it plays into present. Though not exactly the plot of Lagan Love, it is nonetheless very interesting and at times shocking. It gives balance to the story, a fullness that I don’t think would otherwise have been met if it was only periodically mentioned in passing.
Lagan Love is a story about the cost we pay for our dreams, of losing ‘self’ and how even the best of us can lose ourselves to shadows. Holding true to the myths of Old Ways, Peter Murphy draws to the light one of the old mythos of Ireland, the Leanan Sidhe, the ‘barrow-lover’ of the Fair Folk. And as Aidan, the rising poet who seeks redemption in the arms of Janice, a home-sick foreign student that found herself alone in Dublin, the spirits of old Ireland take form and begin to prey on his friends.
“The Leanhaun Shee (fairy mistress) seeks the love of mortals. If they refuse, she must be their slave; if they consent, they are hers, and can only escape by finding another to take their place. The fairy lives on their life, and they waste away. Death is no escape from her. She is the Gaelic muse, for she gives inspiration to those she persecutes. The Gaelic poets die young, for she is restless, and will not let them remain long on earth – this malignant phantom.” – W.B. Yeats
I must admit that at first Lagan Love was difficult to draw into considering the fact that I do not know the streets, nor places of interest in Ireland, however this is typical of international stories and passed without notice as I seeped into the story. I urge anyone that picks up the novel and senses this to persevere, the story is well worth it. Soon you will feel as if it were a place you knew well and people that you’ve grown close with. There are beautiful treasures in each of the characters stories that weave in and out of the main plot, curling like smoke until the end leaves you in a sense of wonder. Lagan Love will bring into question what the cost of your dreams are, what it means to mourn the roots of your country and the loss of identity in the face of recognition. It calls into question your ‘self’.
“If you know something about passion, and desire, and giving everything to live your dreams then leave your world behind for awhile. Come with Janice to Dublin, in the mid nineteen-eighties when a better future beckoned and the past was restless, whispering in the shadows for the Old Ways.”
Lagan Love by Peter Murphy goes on sale today for $13.22 on Amazon. I implore anyone that has held fascination for the mysteries of Ireland, to pick up this story and delve into the heart of them and those of you that have yet to feel the lure of its beauty to see for yourself how mystifying it is. Peter Murphy has undoubtedly gave the old a new awakening.
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I received samples for the purpose of reviewing. Opinions expressed are my own or my families and are not influenced by any form of compensation. Take it or leave it. Click here to view my full acknowledgment policy.
