SOURCE: Kiely, Robert. “Maeve Brennan at Home and Abroad.” New York Times Book Review (4 August 1974): 5-6.

In the following essay, Kiely states that the Irish stories in Christmas Eve are far superior to the American stories in the volume.

To collect and publish stories written over a period of 20 years is a risk for any author. Readers can hardly avoid making comparisons, noticing inconsistencies and remarking the slightest signs of unevenness. In the case of Maeve Brennan, the risk is particularly great because of the sharp distinction in the subject matter of her stories. Roughly half of the works in this new volume [Christmas Eve] by the New Yorker writer are American—upper-middle-class exurban New York; the other half are Irish—lower-middle-class County Wexford. Perhaps some contrast is intended between the styles and values of the two cultures. If so, the point of the contrast is lost in...