Cleiti Ge on mBlascaod Mor, by Sean agus Tomas O Criomhthain, edited by Padraig O Fiannachta (An Sagart, £6)

Eleven retellings of folk tales and local lore by Sean O Criomhthain prefaced by another piece of Blasket "seanchas" by his more…

Eleven retellings of folk tales and local lore by Sean O Criomhthain prefaced by another piece of Blasket "seanchas" by his more famous father, Tomas. Sean's style is a tot softer than the Islandman's, who by this time was at the end of his writing career and had only three more years to live. This book is interesting in that every second page is a facsimile of what appears to be the authors' own fair copy. Does this resolve the ancient editorial dilemma with regard to Irish classics, as to whether we are dealing with a literature or a linguistics? I must leave it to others to determine how well this book manages to gain the best of both worlds.