Set in Dublin during the years of the Second World
War and in England during the post-war years of
the 1950s and 1960s Against the Wind is a lively
and compelling memoir.
It is the story of a young man of independent mind and feisty
spirit who refuses to accept the constraints and strictures of a
closed Irish society. And who through economic necessity, at a very
young age, is forced to live and work in ‘Pagan England’ the land
of ‘the enemy’. There he learns to ‘like the English’ and learns of
‘freedoms that he knew very little about’ in ‘holy Ireland’.
A wealth of varying and informative material and the ability to
anchor the personal securely within the public domain gives this
memoir a universal appeal.
The narrative has all the ingredients for a compelling read –vivid
and varied characters brought alive on the page, compelling setting
and historical relevance and interest. The prologue whets our
appetite for what is to come and the mixture of recollection, poetry
and historical information drawstrings the narrative together well.
Astute observation and character portrayal are the strengths of the
work, as is the accessible tone of the narrative voice in which the
author employs a light touch that has just the right amount of wit and sobriety.
