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In the late 1890s, John Synge, in his middle twenties and unsure of his vocation, made his way to Paris to study French literature and become a literary critic. There he met William Butler Yeats. The eminent poet advised Synge to drop his involvement with fin de siècle French authors, return to Ireland, and describe a society with which he had a natural connection.Synge first traveled to the primitive, little-known Aran Islands in 1898. His trip proved to be a wonderfully fruitful and decisive experience. He then went back for part of each summer until 1902. The Aran Islands, his memoir of those experiences, was published in 1907, and the future playwright called it his "first serious piece of work."
I am recurrently struck with the frequency of turgid and pompous prefaces which only serve to diminish the quality of the book. The preface to this short tome was written early in the 20th century, but pomposity surely rules. KEEP READING, for the text is superb and gives a historical and excellent perspective to the people of these isolated isles. For an understanding of the Aran Islands, I highly recommend this short book. Yes, it is short on geography and topography, and descriptions of ancient sites, but at the end of the day, it is people who are responsible for history. For any visitor to the Aran Islands, this book in my opinion is essential.
