A riddle of stars

the long version

"In a house on the Inish, an island off the wild western coast of Ireland, an old man sits by the light of a turf fire spinning the ancient Irish myth of Diarmat & Grania for his grandson, and kindles in the boy a love of the old ways. Set partly on the Inish, and partly on the streets and highways of Massachusetts, A Riddle of Stars is the story of Matthew Quigley, a latter-day Irish immigrant who cannot forget the old country. Although he can't bring himself to live in the house he inherits after his grandfather's death, neither can he ignore its hold on him. He spends his days in the new world endlessly driving a rusty Pontiac he dubs "the green monster." Driving is an escape from reality - a meaningless factory job, an off-and-on love affair - and a way of discovering this strange new place; but it is also a vehicle of memory."--BOOK JACKET.