The Celebrated Letters of John B. Keane. Vol. 1 (ePub)

John B. Keane, one of Ireland's most prolific and respected literary figures, died on 30 May 2002 at the age of 73, after a long and difficult battle with cancer. John B. Keane was born in 1928 in Listowel, County Kerry and it was here that he spent his literary career, running a pub which provided him with inspiration for his characters and ideas. This is a further collection of John B. Keane's highly successful letters. This book includes Letters of a Civic Guard, Letters of an Irish Publican, Letters of a Country Postman and Letters to the Brain. Four very different people in four very different circumstances and the thread that binds them is John B. Keane's skill at recognising the follies and weaknesses of men and women. The letter writers and their correspondents prove to be fine examples of this. Garda Leo Molair copes masterfully with all the transgressions of village life. He knows when to intervene and when to leave well alone. Yet nothing that he has learned will help him when he encounters the most serious problem of his career, one that cannot be sorted out with a hard word or a good kick.

Kerry publican Martin MacMee is a confirmed bachelor but irresistible to women, a principled man forgiving of the failings of others, and a brilliant storyteller. Comic, romantic or tragic, the lives of the inhabitants of Knockanee are brilliantly evoked in his letters.

After fifty years as a postman, Mocky Fondoo has developed a shrewd understanding of the human condition. Imparting his hard-earned knowledge to a young postman and reminiscing with old friends, he describes the bizarre characters and hilarious events encountered in a long career.

Tom Cram's body and soul have suffered greatly during fifty years of drunken debauchery. In a series of irate letters, his much-abused organs recount hilarious misadventures and missed opportunities and put the case for a healthier, happier future.