Climbing Patrick's Mountain: A Novel

by Des Kennedy

Overview

Climbing Patrick’s Mountain is bestselling author Des Kennedy’s haunting and elegant tale about coming to terms with one’s past.

Expatriate Irishman Patrick Gallagher, an accomplished but eccentric breeder of prized roses, returns to Ireland as a celebrity host to lead a tour of Irish gardens, and hopes to attract the eye of a wealthy patron to donate funds to his garden back home. What is planned to be a pleasant and lucrative trip soon becomes a voyage of overcoming a painful history as the protagonist encounters the very reasons he left Ireland in the first place. Just as Patrick begins to reconcile with his demons, time runs out in a poignant conclusion.

A vivid coming-of-middle-age story set in today’s Ireland, Climbing Patrick’s Mountain embraces the contradiction of the Irish sensibility: grand humour in the face of ultimate tragedy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781897142394
Publisher:	Brindle & Glass Publishing
Publication date:	04/01/2010
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Des Kennedy is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, author and environmental activist. He is the author of four books of essays, including The Passionate Gardener, a memoir and three novels, including Climbing Patrick's Mountain. Noted as one of the most influential personalities on the Canadian gardening scene, Des writes a regular column for GardenWise magazine and has been a columnist for the Globe and Mail. Des lives on Denman Island, BC.

Editorial Reviews

Kennedy is a fine writer-a novelist, indeed-and [this novel] is an enjoyable ride. It manages to be both a taut and gentle book. —January Magazine

Wonderful descriptions of the Irish countryside. —Times Colonist

Although Patrick’s Mountain definitely has a spark of wit, it is evenly matched with darker overtones. Kennedy’s got a way with words and knows how to turn a descriptive phrase. —Comox Valley Record

But this is neither a comic nor a sentimental portrait of the auld sod… Instead of gushing descriptions of the countryside and its many hues of green, there are sharp observations of downtown Dublin. — BC Bookworld

From the Publisher