Read Ireland Book News - Issue 67 - New Irish Fiction
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Two Moons by Jennifer Johnston (Hardback; 14.99 IRP / 22.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
In a house overlooking Dublin Bay, Mimi and her daughter Grace are disturbed by the unexpected arrival of Grace's daughter Polly, and her striking new boyfriend. The events of the next few days will lead both of them to reassess the shape of their lives. For while Grace's visitors focus her attention on an uncertain future, Mimi, who receives a messenger of a very different kind, must begin to set herself to rights with the betrayals and disappointments of the past. Two Moons is a novel of love and intimacy, of the delicate threads that bind and protect, and the threat of their rupture. Moving with ease across the dimensions of age and time, it is as warm and resonant as it is delightfully attentive. Jennifer Johnston, widely recognised as one of Ireland's finest writers, has written a beautiful novel.
Emerald Underground by Michael Collins (Paperback; 9.99 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
In this novel, the author of The Feminsts Go Swimming brings his characteristic energy and edge to a story that links Ireland and America. Liam, a fallen angel with a bad track record, has arrived in America through the back door, an illegal immigrant stuck with the worst kind of job and a reputation for trouble. Forced on the run, he links up with another fallen star, a beautiful, pregnant girl called Angel. Hampered, yet spurred on, by Angel's lowlife boyfriend, Liam finds the wide open spaces bring him a freedom not advertised by the immigration brokers back home - and the chance to run towards the life he had always dreamed of.
Sad Bastard by Hugo Hamilton (Paperback; 9.99 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Pat Coyne, the damaged idealist of Hamilton's previous novel, Headbanger, is in this novel recovering from an accident while on duty, in therapy but refusing to be healed. Unable to keep pace with the new Ireland, he has become a man with a truth fixation who forgets to eat and calls his ex-wife Carmel in the middle of the night for food aid. While his son Jimmy places the family in danger, Coyne is drawn into a misguided mission and finds himself dealing with new enemies. A powerful portrayal of a changing nation, this novel confirms the author as one of Ireland's most innovative writers.
The Song of the Tide by Mary Ryan (Hardback; 12.99 IRP / 19.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
The only girl among four brothers, Aine is a neglected and lonely child, afraid of the dark, plagued by nightmares, too scared to show terror for fear of being mocked. Perceptive and secretive, she is sensitive to nuances of atmosphere and the secrets of others - particularly those of her emotionally abused mother and aunt. She is equally haunted by the mysterious magnetism of Dunbeg - the rambling old castle on the west coast of Ireland in which she spends her summers. It is here, at the age of ten, that she meets her American cousin for the first time: a meeting that will change her life forever … In this deeply passionate and page-turning novel, Mary Ryan sensitively explores the complexities of relationships whose driving forces range from fear and control to forbidden love.
The Silk Weaver by Gabrielle Warnock (Paperback; 5.99 IRP / 8.99 USD) [Add To Basket]
This is a historical novel of stunning narrative power, which brims with bustle and intrigue. It deftly recreates Dublin of the late 18th century with vividly drawn characters. Antom Paradis, a silk weaver of unparalleled excellence whose only desire is to create sensuous patterns on the finest of silk, finds his life in absolute turmoil when he is reluctantly forced to betray his employer, friend and fellow-revolutionary Danno McKenna. The unfortunate artisan is swept up in a spiralling nightmare of uncontrollable events which culminates in him becoming a deeply unwilling and unlikely hero of the Irish Cause. Against this backdrop of ominous and increasingly frenetic political intrigue, Danno's consuming affair with the beautiful and passionate Letitia is mirrored by Anton's despairing love for the quiet Caitlin. None of the central characters escape the sinister machinations of a well-placed informer, culminating in a series of shattering public and personal betrayals.
Consequences of the Heart by Peter Cunningham (Paperback; 11.00 IRP / 16.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This literary work of fiction shows a powerful and sensual lyricism, effortless characterisation and sparkling humour. It is a glorious epic sweep of a narrative that encapsulates a whole Irish community and landscape, making brilliantly alive the rivalry and passion that bind the lives of three people formed by their time but stubbornly independent of everything beyond thier mutual love.
Chud Conduit, the wild grandson of the most successful businesswoman in Monument, and Anglo-Irish Jack Santry, gentle heir to Main, the big estate on the hill, are unlikely friends. United by their love for Rosa and then by a terrible event that flings all three adolescents from their garden of Eden, Jack and Chud meet again on the beaches of Normandy where acts of bravery and cowardice determine the course of the rest of their lives in ways that none of them can anticipate. One of them wins Rosa's hand in marriage, and in this constellation all three embark on adult life, bound in a triangle of love that is stronger than social convention, beyond even law.
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