ABSTRACT
TheoriginalhardbackeditionofCohnT6ibin'sWalkingAlongtheBorder presentstheauthor'swalkaspartlyatourthrougha'quietanddesolate',but scenic,landscape.Theflyleafofthejacketspeaksof'averypersonal encounter'withtownsandpeople,andmentions'anidyllicboattripon LoughErne'.Inthepaperbackreprint,wherethedescriptionontheback cover(inlinewiththebook'sretitlingasBadBlood)focusesexclusivelyon theantagonismsandviolenceoftheTroubles,thelandscapehasbecome 'bleakanddesolate',framing'astarkandevocativeaccountofajourney throughfearandhatred'.Asonereadsthetext,thevisibleterrain-despite theoftenappallinglywetweather:thiswasthesummerof1986,oneofthe rainiestonrecord-isinfactafrequentsourceofpleasure.Sometimes,asin thetreelessbogsofnorthMonaghan,ableakdesolationinthelanddoes seemamirrorforsadnessandterror;elsewhere,theprospectofcountryside willofferreleaseanddelight,asforinstancewhenT6ibinarrivesonan eveningofcalmsunshineattheshoresofLoughMelvinintheborderlands ofLeitrimandFermanagh:'Iwasrivetedbythepleasureofthis...Icould feelmysensesbecomingsharper,myeyesnoticingtheshiftsoflight' (T6ibin,1994,78).
