The Last Storyteller: A Novel of Ireland

The Last Storyteller is the third and final installment in the story of Ben McCarthy and his estranged, Venetia Kelly. The trilogy began with Venetia Kelly's Travelling Show which was followed by The Matchmaker of Kenmare. Spanning two decades, through these novels, Frank Delaney has given readers a glimpse of Ireland and its rich culture.In this ambitious epic, Ben McCarthy is the main character. Venetia, his estranged wife, plays a larger role in this final book. The brilliance of this book and the talent of the author lies in the author's ability to cover the larger scope of Ireland's history such as the IRA and poverty while never losing sight of Ben whose own personal adversities evolve as the story progresses and the reader comes to understand his pain, his losses, and motivations.Although I encourage you to read all three of these intriguing novels, each one can stand alone because the author provides a complete background of the story so far at the start of each book. As I read through the stories, Ben MacCarthy, and the journey and adventures in his life, began to feel real to me. The Last Storyteller closes the trilogy with a completely satisfying ending.Frank Delaney is a master storyteller himself. His passion for Irish history is evident on each page that is intermingled with politics, adversity, and plenty of conflict. Never boring, always entertaining, and forever poignant, this was a trilogy on a grand scale. A highly recommended trilogy indeed!

Frank Delaney is truly the master storyteller. I have now read all of his novels and was thrilled when The Last Storyteller came out this past year. Although I enjoyed the books revolving around the life of Ben and the elusive Venetia, my favorites were Delaney's first two "novels of Ireland."I very much enjoy Delaney's first person narrative form of writing. I feel I know the storyteller as well as my best friend, his virtues as well as his flaws. However, Ben's major flaw--in my opinion--is his cowardice in his relationship with Venetia. For someone who claims such a deep, one true love feeling for a woman, it seems unbelievable that Ben would not have done everything humanly possible to get her back as well as his children. Nevertheless, The Last Storyteller has the stroke of the master in a line of novels that not only express and teach the ancient art of storytelling entertwined with human behavior, but leave the readers with an invaluable knowledge of Irish history as well.

To begin with i would probably give it 4 1/2 stars if possible. Frank Delaney is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. My list of favorite storytellers is fairly short, Michener, Uris, and Thom. I found they could weave a story better than all of the others. I need now to add Mr Delaney to the list. He writes in such a way you can hear the voice of his characters. They are believable. They come alive on the page and i find it extremely difficult to put the book down once begin turning the pages. You can feel the emotion of his love of country and for that reason alone visiting Ireland has found its way onto my bucket list.as for the book itself, a little slow starting since it is weaving so many threads together, but once you get rolling hard to put down! For anyone who enjoys storytelling or Ireland or both this is a must read.

This summer I read each of Delaney's books and they were all a delight. Packed with Irish history and interwoven with personal drama. His style is entertaining and surprising. An inspiration to me in my own writing.

What an amazing story. I have always been fascinated by the Irish Storytellers . This book is told by a true Storyteller one who's life was dedicated to telling stories that teach life lessons .

Beautifully written. The tale of young love interrupted. But it comes full circle. Crisscrossing Ireland with great tales and mythology. The story of becoming a full complete human being. Bravo!

several times while reading this book, I was tempted to quit. I found it a difficult style to follow very often. In fairness I will say I am glad I finished it. there are some excellent life lessons to be learned from the story.

Political campaign managers try to package their candidates as "Someone you'd like to have a beer with." I'd vote Frank Delaney as the author "I'd most like to sit beside on a long flight." His stories might meander a bit, The POV and time switches might be confusing at times, but oh! The lovely, lovely characters, the stories, descriptions of settings, historical tidbits and other factoids, and always, the suspense. (Would it be too much to ask to sit beside him again on the long return flight? Or, I suppose I could buy his next book. FYI: This is the fourth Delaney book I've read and enjoyed.)

Great story telling on a grand scale and with personalised details. I loved the layers of story telling and the geographical contexts. Read this slowly as you would take a long walk through the countryside.

I particularly love how he brings up references and hints without ever giving away the final outcome. His descriptions of the Irish country side and the people is superior.

Wieder ein Perfect gelungenes Buch von frank! Hatte mich schon bei der 2. Seite gefesselt und einige schlaflose Nächte bereitet.Bianca

Excellent will buy of seller again.

great read