Title: ‘Last Days Of The Buffalo’ by Kevin Barry
Collection/Anthology?: There Are Little Kingdoms (Stinging Fly Press)
Date Read: 27 August 2010
Briefly: The story follows Foley – a man so eloquently described in the story as ‘the original brick shithouse’ – as he embarks on one of his regular afternoon jaunts, which takes him alongside the creek to the River Shannon, and back again.
Afterthoughts: I adored this story, not least for the way in which Barry so well-roundedly paints the character of Foley. Ruminating on the sights and sounds that greet Foley during his walk, we discover something of the life of this lovable but lonely ‘gentle giant’; and it’s a life which can probably best be described as mournful. Despite all this however, this is still a story I felt I walked away from with warming optimism. And all of that is down to spending time with a character who is perhaps not as downtrodden as one first thinks. Well, that and the massive dose of ‘Irishness’, that this story injects.
Rating: 
This story was read as part of a review of Kevin Barry’s short story collection, There Are Little Kingdoms. If you want to find out more about this collection then I invite you to either visit my ‘forethoughts’ post, or to pop along to the product page for the collection, on the publisher’s website.
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