The Seanachie

The Seanachie
Bob Huerter
Outskirts Press
ISBN: 1598005545
Fiction, Historical Fiction
Reviewed by Nancy Flinn Ludwin

The Seanachie is an engrossing story told about typical Irish American family living today in the Midwest. A Seanachie is a naturally born and gifted Irish storyteller-a trait that is often passed down through generations.
Bob Huerter, in true Seanachie style, takes us into the mind and hearts of the McGrath household as they gather to celebrate their maternal grandfather’s 83rd birthday. Frank McGrath, the eighth child out of ten and a typical ornery teenager gets in trouble and is brought home to face his father’s wrath. As punishment he is told to drive his grandfather, Liam O’Conlan, to visit his birthplace in Iowa. Without a choice he heads out on the journey that will forever change his young life.
Stubborn and unruly Frank has a hard time loosing up as his grandfather tries to teach him about his Irish heritage. But little by little, Franks becomes fascinated by the stories his grandfather tells him and the admissions of his grandfather’s own mistakes made as a young man. Frank realizes that this trip is about his grandfather’s seeking forgiveness and absolution. A special bond develops between the two.
Liam tells Frank he is a Seanachie and in a strange twist of fate, they both go back to Ireland to 1846, to the horrible Potato Famine that brought the poor and starving Irish to America. In a dream, Frank gets to see first hand how his ancestors had the courage and conviction to leave what they knew and loved behind to carve out a new life in an unknown land.
The tale is full of unbelievable misery as Frank glimpses into the past and yet it is a story of love, hope and survival despite all odds. This book should be read by anyone who wonders about their family’s heritage and certainly by Irish Americans. It is a beautiful, well-told story by a true Seanachie and one which will be long remembered.