Mo'soor: Song of the Road

By John A. Ryan

He said his name was Monsieur Jean-Louis Ovide; my name, I told him, was Ulick MacKettrick, and with this mutually incomprehensible introduction we fell into step, as we were both headed in roughly the same direction.' An Irish musician and a French free-thinking eccentric journey through Normandy in the summertime, overcoming language barriers to form a unique friendship, the one deploying words, the other song. Walking the country lanes together, playing music for pleasure and for food, they pick up odd jobs and sleep out of doors. As they travel between villages other characters come into play: Felix, a young, sports-car-driving socialist who trades Cuban cigars for potatoes; Sir Peter and Lady Em, wealthy hosts who share their love of music. In the company of Ulick and Mo'soor, a French summer comes alive with traditional airs and renewed understandings. The timeless pastoral setting of this beautifully crafted novella echoes both Oliver Goldsmith and Guy de Maupassant, creating a unique interlude in a clamorous world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Lilliput Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781843515142

John A. Ryan

John A. Ryan’s first book, Song of Duiske (Lilliput, 1989, 2006), was described by Sean Dunne as ‘a small classic of Irish literature’ (Cork Examiner) and by Pat Donlan, national librarian, as ‘a tiny masterpiece … like a miniature painting (RTÉ). His novella, Mo’soor: Song of the Road, was published by Lilliput in 2013. John is a retired teacher and currently lives in Waterford.