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Feb 29, 2008

Suzanne rated it:

This was a reasonable summer read and had some poignant moments, but overall, I felt it was predictable. The cover was spectacular though.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 29, 2008

Karen rated it:

An uplifting, humorous portrayal of a lost time and place --- the countryside of Northern Ireland in the 1960s. This novel documents a recent medical graduate's first month of doctoring in a rural town full of quirky and lovable citizens. Dr. Laverty is an urban physician who comes under the tutelage of the seasoned, boisterous, opinionated and creative Dr. O'Reilly who has practiced medicine in Northern Ireland for his whole life.

I found it difficult to put this book down because More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 11, 2009

Phil rated it:

I wanted to like this book. I really did. But I couldn't.

Having read the jacket blurbs, I held out hope that this might be an Irish version of the wonderful stories James Herriot gave us with his lovable English veterinarian. As it turned out, however, Taylor's Ballybucklebo couldn't hold a candle to Herriot's Yorkshire.

Taylor's descriptions of the Irish countryside and it's quirky inhabitants was sub-par, and his story entirely predictable. His preoccupation with injec More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2009

Amanda rated it:

I have no idea what prompted me to finish this book. The characters were shallow in development, the plot ridiculously predictable and the happy ending such a neatly tied-up bow that it was hugely unrealistic as well as unsatisfying. Obviously, I do not recommend this book but to be fair it did have a good amount of Irish colloquialisms & authentic Irish cooking/recipe references which make it some-what unique. In my opinion the author should stick to being a doctor and never attempt fiction aga More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 03, 2011

Steve rated it:

After the heaviness of Atlas Shrugged, I needed something a bit lighter. This one fit the bill, but I'd rather have had looked a little harder.

My first impression was that Patrick Taylor was doing a nice cover of a James Herriott hit. And the more I read it, the more I felt that that was the best way to describe his story of a young Irish General Practitioner set in a quirky village not too far off the beaten path.

The plot was utterly predictable (is he going to win the gir More...

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Jul 10, 2011

Janice rated it:

Not my favorite but not my least favorite either.

Barry Laverty, MD, can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree, Barry jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice. At least until he meets Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Rei More...

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Feb 26, 2010

Judith rated it:

I have a weakness for books set in Northern Ireland, a distinctly different world from the Republic of Ireland, and this book is no exception. I loved the setting and the dialect, and the description of the people and the countryside. It felt authentic to me and I enjoyed that aspect of the book. I loved the fact that Patrick Taylor, the author didn't exploit his characters or setting, and you won't find any leprechans, Irish wakes, be'gosh and be'gorras thrown in. The problem with this bo More...

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Oct 02, 2011

Rose rated it:

What a charming, cozy tale. I loved everything about it. You know nothing bad will happen in this story, you know where everything will end up & yet it's still a complete joy getting there. This story just made me feel really good & happy. Not unlike being a child & reading fairy tales. It's full of wonderful characters, most of them rather eccentric, including an inappropriately amorous dog & a diva like cat. I loved the older, experienced, rather ornery, but kind Dr. O'Reilly teaching the youn More...

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Oct 19, 2009

Awallens rated it:

NorthBarry Laverty, MD, can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows
that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree, Barry
jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice. At least until he meets Dr. Fingal Flahertie OReilly. The older physician,
whose motto is More...

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Dec 25, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

If you like the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, this series is for you! The story is set in a quaint village in Northern Ireland, Ballybucklebo, in the 1960s (the Beatles are just growing scandalously long hair). The protagonist is a young, naive doctor fresh from medical school who goes to assist the one physician in the village and learns a lesson or two in medicine, life, and love along the way.

If that sounds like a bit of a cutesy description -- well, this is a bit of a c More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 08, 2010

Treasa rated it:

Fresh out of med school and looking for some sort of direction in his life, Barry Laverty goes for an interview with a country GP in the small town of Ballybucklebo. Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly is not at all what Barry was expecting - his sometimes unorthodox medical practices startle Barry. But as Barry gets to know O'Reilly and the people in the town, he begins to understand the life of a country GP and why O'Reilly acts as he does.

This book is slightly reminiscent of the James H More...

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Oct 25, 2011

Catherine rated it:

Dr. Barry Laverty, newly minted doctor, comes to the little Irish village of Ballybucklebo to do an internship in general practise with Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, a loud, opinionated, tempestuous medical man if there ever was one. Laverty isn't sure how he's going to deal with this doctor, who's sawn down the front legs of the patients' chair in his consulting room so folks won't overstay their welcome (they slide down the seat), but gradually he comes to see that there's more to O'Reilly th More...

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Apr 26, 2010

Martha rated it:

This is a completely charming book. When young Doctor Barry Laverty comes to interview with Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reily, little does he know what he's getting into.

Welcome to Ballybucklebo (if you can pronounce it you're one up on me), a small village in Northern Ireland in the mid 1960s. Full of all the quirky characters you would expect in a small Irish village. From the old Major and his wife who keep crying wolf to the young woman who finds herself in the family way all th More...

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Jun 21, 2010

Nancy rated it:

Somewhere in the 1960's in Ballybucklebo, Ireland, Barry Laverty fresh out of medical school is on his way to apply as the assistant to Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. Barry is not quite sure if he wants to specialize or just stay with general practice so he decided to get a taste of small town doctoring. Getting lost more then once, Dr. Laverty shows up on Dr. O'Reilly's doorstep just as a patient, or customer as O'Reilly refers to them as, is bodily chucked of the office into garden.

More...

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Feb 12, 2010

Ruth rated it:

Open the cover to An Irish Country Doctor and you will travel to Ballybucklebo Ireland, a town you would love to visit. Meeting the inhabitants of the town is a pleasure. Quirky Ms. MacCorkle and Sonny make quite a pair. Patricia Spence is the feminist. What happens if Julie discovers that she really is pregnant? Bertie Bishop thinks that he is at the top of the food chain and clearly needs to be taken down a peg and the good doctor is certainly one who can do it. I thoroughly enjoyed some More...

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Aug 30, 2010

Eric rated it:

An Irish Country Doctor is a charming book about a small village in Northern Ireland, a new doctor who joins an eccentric older doctor's practice. It reminded me of the Yorkshire vet's tales. Taylor has crafted a delightful cast of colourful characters and that includes the two main doctors. The older man, Dr. Fingal is a pgnacious doctor with a soft spot and a knack for dispening not just medicine but the advice and help his patients need. Barry, the new man is at first shocked at the unorthodo More...

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Mar 10, 2010

Terri rated it:

I must say that I really enjoyed this lovely little book set in Ireland in the late 60's, though it did have its flaws.

Firstly, it is pretty darn clean, except for the language, which isn't too horrible (a smattering that includes some f-bombs), but I was disappointed because it was clean in so many other ways.

I absolutely loved the setting, the descriptions of the Irish countryside and the people, the dialect, the food, and the work these two doctors did with the people. More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 04, 2010

Laura rated it:

One of the critical reviews for this series calls it "Herriot for humans" or something like that, and it does have that lovely small town, small practice feel to it that James Herriot's books do. But it is also distinctly its own, not just an imitation.

I fell in love with Ballybucklebo and all of its residents right alongside Doctor Barry Laverty. I dearly loved the town, the patients, the goings-on in their lives, and especially Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, but I was More...

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Apr 17, 2011

Dahlene rated it:

My dad lent me this book because he really enjoyed it. I must say it was very entertaining. It's a book about an Irish country doctor who is training a new city doctor. At first the new apprentice thinks this doctor is off his rocker in some of the treatments he prescribes to his patients. The character development throughout the book is wonderful. I really felt I knew some of these people and could relate to them. Having said that, I would have given the book 3 1/2 stars if I could have b More...

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Jul 22, 2010

Charlotte rated it:

My great-grandmother came over to the United States from Ireland during the potato famine. According to one of my cousins who went to Ireland to research our ancestry, our great-grandmother came from County Down.
Since the setting for this book is County Down, I am especially interested in the local dialect as well as the local customs and the food common to the area. I found an abundance of this type of information in An Irish Country Doctor.
I found it a bit difficul More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 16, 2009

Jonathan rated it:

This book was pretty good. Mostly I liked the way it described the way the patients acted, because people act pretty much like that in real life. The main character, Barry, is fresh out of medical school and thinks that he knows everything about how to be a doctor and gets really offended when the O'Reilly, the older doctor he works with, doesn't do things by the book. I can relate to this because I'm taught a lot of things in pharmacy school, that when it I go out in real life, other pharmac More...

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Jan 06, 2010

Carolyn rated it:

This is a very light book which was perfect to read while visiting family members over the break. If it hadn't been quite so light I would have given it five stars. A little more heft to the material would have been welcome. That said, I look forward to reading other books by this author, as his style is engaging, the characters have great personalities and the medical situations are realistically humorous and quirky. There are some sad situations, but they are treated with a light touch. This b More...

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Aug 17, 2011

Thalia rated it:

This is a cozy little read. Not unlike a hallmark special. There's some humour, some crusty characters, some eccentric characters, loads of small town (and cultural) charm and bad things always turn out good. But you know all of this going in so it's not a let down (unlike novels that push the envelope and then revert to sugar sweet at the end). It's all predicatble but it was pleasent and I'm going to find his An Irish Country Village but save his An Irish Country Christmas for December and More...

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Aug 11, 2009

JoAnn rated it:

This is a great opportunity to view the orange world of Northern Ireland thru the eyes of a new general practicioner, who takes a position in an Irish country village.
Despite the huge character of the great Dr. O'Reilly, whom the young doctor becomes an assistant to, there is a story here. However, by about half way thru, there is a blaring need for subplot to appear and lessen the intensity of this drama.
The story becomes slightly cyclical and predictable by the last quarter.
H More...

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Jun 18, 2009

Kristine rated it:

reposted from my book blog.
***
An Irish Country Doctor follows the adventures of the newly degreed doctor, Barry Laverty, in the small village of Ballybucklebo, Northern Ireland in the 1960’s. After receiving his new medical degree, he is eager to take an assistant position in the small practice of one older Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’ Reilly. That is, until he meets Dr. O’ Reilly himself.

Dr. O’ Reilly is a seasoned doctor and understandably has acquired his own certain practi More...

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Feb 20, 2009

Evan rated it:

Review of “An Irish Country Doctor”

I read the book “An Irish Country Doctor” by Patrick Taylor. I have just finished reading it for a second time now. It is a very interesting book. There was one part of the book that just completely captivated my entire attention. It was when Doctor Laverty and Doctor O’Reilly first met, and they had to make the rounds going through the village to anyone that had to see the doctor from their own home. But I won’t tell you too much, you have to read More...

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Aug 06, 2011

Vincent rated it:

Heartwarming. A coming of age tale that both captivates and gives hope to young professionals regardless of their line of work. The book really depicts the age old phrase "everything works out" even to today's post-graduate audiences. Personally, I found it a leisurely read to relax my own fears of the constantly approaching post-college life. Taylor caters to twenty-somethings with his ambitious but tender minded Dr. Laverty and creates a story that shapes the naive young doctor into More...

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Dec 05, 2011

Jessie rated it:

Fun Fun book. Full of smiles and real people. I loved the story. ***stop here for spoilers**** A boy just out of medical school answers an advertisement to work as an assistant for a county doctor. He later finds out that his father knew this doctor in the navy. We meet the people of the town as they come to the doctors for help. They make house calls, and do more than just doctoring. They help a young couple have enough money to get married. They help another couple raise the money to t More...

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Feb 17, 2010

Travis rated it:

Enjoyable. A bit nostalgic, and certainly played on the iconic Ireland of yesteryear. Nice descriptions of scenery and animals and rural life with all it's quirks. I also liked the author's use of uniquely Irish cliche's and metaphors. Memorable, well-developed characters. I did find the story quite predictable, except for the surprisingly dark solution the main characters hit upon to help a patient out. The book tries to make the case that the ends justify the means and that any kind-hear More...

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Feb 10, 2012

Leisa rated it:

I heard a few chapters of this book on Wisconsin Public Radio's Chapter-a-Day program and really enjoyed the dialogue among the characters. So I decided to download the book on my Kindle Fire. It's a story about two doctors, an older man and his young protege, their housekeeper, and the people of the fictional village, Balleybuckbo. The setting is northern Ireland in the early 1960s The writing is good and the characters are likable- neither tragic nor sentimental. This is a story set in Ireland More...

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