In late 1950s countryside Ireland, having been captivated by narratives of the wild west and intriguing tales recounted by the “returned Yanks”, Fintan Doherty ventures to America a few years after his mother’s passing. Undertaking a lifelong fascination with western culture, he embarks on a journey that takes him across an entire continent, reminiscent of a Donegal version of Kerouac. His journey is filled with vibrant, vivid encounters and experiences, even as he leaves behind the thatched cottages and rugged Irish landscape for highways, live baseball games, and pictorial representations of an America that some may still long for today, although it perhaps never really existed.
The ensuing story is an engaging bildungsroman that becomes deeply moving as it develops. The author’s stylistic narrative, full of hints of nostalgia, permeates an almost melancholic undertone. Yet, it never lingers too long for it to become burdensome. This melancholia is skillfully counterbalanced with prose that is silent and personal, like a person sharing their life anecdotes within the comforting environment of a quaint pub.
“Way Out West” ensnares the reader’s focus as one would expect from such a narrative. As the reader becomes engrossed, pages and years of Doherty’s life fade away as he meanders through the 1970s and 1980s, through relationships and companionships, through ever-changing settlements and cities teeming with non-stop American hustle and bustle.
He doesn’t follow a direct path; he first lands in Cleveland, moving on to St Louis to work in social services, then to Wisconsin working in a brightly lit carnival, making his way to Butte with its rich Irish labour history, and finally reaching California. Doherty is the quintessential immigrant, employing his distinctive Irish accent to secure bar jobs, taking on employment as a car wash attendant, cashier, and night watchman to make ends meet. He always manages to stay a step ahead of the void he feels inside.
This unvoiced, and perhaps inexpressible, quest for identity forms the core of “Way Out West”. Doherty has always sensed a void, something that can be traced back to the first 60 pages about his youth in the Irish countryside. Despite taking a lifetime to understand it, once he does, the journey does not just vindicate the struggles but also provides tranquillity to the wanderer and the reader alike.