Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 175
New Irish Fiction
Yeats Is Dead: A Novel edited by Joseph O'Connor
Paperback; 12.60 IEP / 15.50 USD / 10.99 UK / 16.10 EURO; Jonathan Cape; 298 pages [Add To Basket]This novel is a collaborative effort by fifteen Irish writers in aid of Amnesty International. The first chapter is by Roddy Doyle and the last by Frank McCourt. In between, thirteen of the very best writers in Ireland spin a brilliantly funny tale of murder, mayhem, and missing manuscripts in present-day Dublin. The thirteen writers are: Conor McPherson, Gene Kerrigan, Gina Moxley, Marian Keyes, Anthony Cronin, Owen O'Neill, Hugh Hamilton, Joseph O'Connor, Tom Humphries, Pauline McLynn, Charlie O'Neill, Donal O'Kelly and Gerard Stembridge.
The Element of Fire by Brendam Graham
Paperback; 13.50 IEP / 16.50 USD / 9.99 UK / 17.20 EURO; HarperCollins, 356 pages [Add To Basket]From the author of the acclaimed 'The Whitest Flower' comes the story of an unforgettable heroine, Ellen Rua O'Malley. Widowed by Ireland's Great Famine, she has fled her native land for Boston. With her are her two surviving children, Patrick and Mary, and the 'silent girl' rescued from the hordes of the dispossessed. Boston in the 1850s is the hub of the universe: gateway to America's temples of commerce and learning; liberal, sophisticated - the very best place in all of the New World for a woman to be. There, awaiting her, are the stability of a new life and Lavelle, the man who loves her. But Ellen, desperate to shake off the Old World, is driven by her own demons to put everything at risk. And Boston, on the brink of Civil War, seems only to mirror her own conflict, to sound the knell of her own battle for survival. A powerful and compelling tale of lives and loves dislocated, this novel captures emotions as times as life and love.
The Guards by Ken Bruen
Paperback; 10.99 IEP / 13.50 USD / 9.50 UK / 14.00 EURO; 301 pages; Brandon [Add To Basket]Jack Taylor is a disgraced ex-cop in Galway. Mourning the death of his father, he is slowly drinking himself into oblivion. He retains, however, his ability to 'find things' and is asked to investigate a teenage suicide. This leads him into a dangerous confrontation. A darker conspiracy slowly unfolds. Aided by a punk girl, he fumbles towards a lethal solution. The narrative is fuelled by black humour, stark violence and moments of radiance. The Guards remain as a chorus in the background, never altogether past, infringing on Jack Taylor at the least expected moment. The intimate, bustling city of Galway, crashing into prosperity, illuminates the story at every turn.
Talking to God by John F. McDonald
Paperback; 10.99 IEP / 13.50 USD / 9.50 UK / 14.00 EURO; 432 pages; Wolfhound [Add To Basket]Talking to God is a dark, powerful and violent story of a man who sees the enemy in everyone but himself. In this novel the author challenges the reader to enter the world of Francis Page and take a look at life through the eyes of a disturbed mind, as he explores the nature of loyalty, love and our perception of relationships, belief and self.
A Life of Her Own by Dee Cunningham
Paperback; 6.99 IEP / 8.50 USD / 5.50 UK / 8.90 EURO; 262 pages; Poolbeg [Add To Basket]Beautiful, successful Cathy Carmody has it all: great friends, a challenging job and a full and happy life. But her confident façade hides a past that is very different and pain that she has never revealed, even to her best friends. When a series of events trigger memories of her troubled past, Cathy turns to a new friend, Stephen Brown, for advice and support. Stephen is attractive, charming and sympathetic - and a Catholic priest. Is the help and friendship he offers her purely platonic? They Cathy falls for Stephen's younger brother, Jack, and things get complicated. Stephen comes to realise what he is losing, but Jack always gets what he wants. Cathy has to decided between the two very different brothers, but first she has to work out what she really wants from life, and how to get it.
Pack Up Your Troubles by Anne Bennett
Paperback; 8.50 IEP / 10.50 USD / 7.00 UK / 10.85 EURO; Headline; 439 pages [Add To Basket]When eighteen-year-old Maeve Brannigan arrives in Birmingham in 1930, having left her family's small farm in County Donegal, she can't believe her luck when she meets and falls in love with the handsome Brendan Hogan. But as they settle into married life it soon becomes clear that Brendan is not the man she thought he was, and when Maeve fall pregnant with their first child, she is exposed to a brutal and violent attack which is to set the pattern for coming years. After one horrific spate of abuse, Maeve takes her children, Kevin and Grace, and flees to the farm in Donegal she was once so eager to escape. But it's not long before the close-knit Catholic community make it very clear that Maeve will never be accepted back into their society. Maeve is forced to return to the horrors of her marital home, but how much longer can she endure the torments of a man she has grown to hate?
Desire Lines by Annie McCartney
Paperback; 12.60 IEP / 15.50 USD / 10.99 UK / 16.10 EURO; Blackstaff Press; 247 pages [Add To Basket]Clare Murphy has come home to a terrace house in west Belfast to lick her wounds. Her glamorous acting career in London is faltering, and her long-term lover Tim has ditched her for a younger actress with more useful theatrical connections. With time on her hands - acting jobs are hard to come by even in newly vibrant Belfast - she agrees to help a local drama group led by Lorcan O'Carroll. Father Lorcan O'Carroll, that is. The immediate attraction she feels to the priest is not only strongly sexual but, it appears, disturbingly mutual. This compelling first novel from the playwright heralds the debut of an exciting new voice in Irish fiction.
Cutting the Night in Two: Short Stories by Irish Women Writers edited by Evelyn Conlon and Hans-Christian Oeser
Paperback; 10.99 IEP / 13.50 USD / 9.50 UK / 14.00 EURO; 416 pages; New Island [Add To Basket]This is a stunning collection of 34 short stories by Irish women writers both past and present. The first anthology of its kind for decades, it serves to showcase work that is often overlooked in the literary ledger, despite the widely acknowledged gift that Irish women writers have shown for the short story in the twentieth century. This collection re-introduces well known voices and introduces the less well-known. Spanning almost the entire century, and set in such diverse locations as Dublin, New York, Kerry, and Greece, these stories reveal a collective voice both imaginative and tough, together with an eclectic vision that shrewdly exposes what lies just below the surface - of people's lives, and the worlds they inhabit.
Single Obsession by Des Ekin
Paperback; 6.99 IEP / 8.50 USD / 5.50 UK / 8.90 EURO; 466 pages; O'Brien Press [Add To Basket]A top politician stands accused of multiple murder. A psychiatrist is threatened and the life of her small son is in danger. A well-known investigative journalist is forced to put his career on the line and his future in doubt. And all three situations are linked in a complex and mysterious way. From a twisting plot, with many surprises, an incredible story emerges, involving conspiracy at the highest level, blackmail, impersonation, strong-arm tactics and sheer terror.
Seducing Adam by Tara Manning
Paperback; 6.99 IEP / 8.50 USD / 5.50 UK / 8.90 EURO; 440 pages; Poolbeg [Add To Basket]Jenny's social life consists of lonely days and nights spent munching chocolates and dishing out advice to the guests on Jerry Springer and Oprah. Now her husband Adam is cheating on her and she doesn't want to get mad … or even. She wants him back! So, agony queen Jenny decides to ignore her own advice, hit the gum, take charge of her life and seduce her man …
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