Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 448
9/10 May 2009
New Irish Fiction
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Large Format Paperback; 14 Euro / 20 USD / 11 UK; 250 pages
Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn to sponsor Eilis in America -- to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland" -- she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.
Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.
By far Tóibín's most instantly engaging and emotionally resonant novel, Brooklyn will make readers fall in love with his gorgeous writing and spellbinding characters. (Also available in Hardback, First Edition, NOT signed, priced at 20 Euro; Signed 35 Euro)
All Names Have Been Changed by Claire Kilroy
Large Paperback with Endflaps; 14 Euro / 20 USD / 10 UK; 270 pages [Add To Basket]
Set in the Dublin of the mid 1980s - gripped by a heroin epidemic and light years from the post EU economic boom of today - "All Names Have Been Changed" tells the story of a small group of mature students on a writing course at Trinity, who become dangerously obsessed with their tutor, a notorious writer. Brilliantly exploring the shifting group dynamic, as events spiral ever further out of control, this is a novel of considerable verve and ambition. Following earlier forays into the worlds of art restoration and classical music, it is further evidence of a writer with a natural gift for narrative and atmosphere.
Happy Ever After? By Patricia Scanlan
Large Format Paperback; 13 Euro / 19 USD / 11 UK;464 pages
When the honeymoon is over, real life begins...Newly married Debbie is at her wits' end about her and Bryan's mounting debts, but there's no way he's going to stop living the high life and become a stay-at-home husband. Meanwhile, her dad has just found out his workaholic second wife, Aimee, is pregnant. He couldn't be happier, but she's horrified. Is their marriage going to last? Debbie's mum, Connie, has met a gorgeous new man and is all set to make a life of her own. But her family needs her more than ever to sort out all their problems. Will she put her family first as always, or can she walk away and finally make a fresh start? Will anyone be happy ever after?
An Invitation to Dance by Marian Urich
Paperback; 14 Euro / 18 USD / 11 UK; 312 pages [Add To Basket]
A compelling work of historical fiction which recounts the astonishing life of Lola Montez, a daring young Irish woman who took on the role in life of a Spanish dancer. Set against the turbulent beginnings of the 19th century, An Invitation to Dance sweeps from the margins of the Empire - Ireland and India - to within the upper echelons of society. This is the extraordinary fictionalised story of a woman who danced her way across Europe leaving scandal in her wake - becoming the muse of Liszt and causing the abdication of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.
A Bit of a Scandal by Mary Rose Callaghan
Paperback; 14 Euro / 18 USD / 11 UK; 237 pages
A modern retelling of the famous story of Héloise and Abelard by an acclaimed Irish novelist. A Bit of a Scandal opens as Louise, a middle-aged Irish emigrant, returns to Dublin for Christmas after thirty years of living in New York City, where she works as an Art History professor. While waiting for her son to join her, Louise visits an old friend, Felicity, whose home overlooks an old Cistercian monastery. The granite building reminds Louise of her youthful love affair with Peter, a Canadian monk, who, at the time, lived in the same monastery while studying theology. The couple, like their predecessors in medieval times, shared a passionate but impossible love. Although it examines priestly celibacy a rule unchanged since the Middle Ages the novel has many hilarious scenes, as the lovers try to resolve their dilemma.
Tears of God by Christy Kenneally
Large Format Paperback; 14 Euro / 18 USD / 12 UK; 472 pages [Add To Basket]
Fr Michael Flaherty returned to the Island to hide from the world, knowing that those he loves are in danger just because he is alive. But try as he might, he can’t escape his past – and, soon, a phone call in the night makes him realise that he has to face his enemy one final time to rid himself of the evil that threatens everything – and everyone – he holds dear. He finds himself in the middle of Jerusalem and in the middle of a fight for the greatest resource the city has – water. As the leaders of the Christians, the Muslims and the Jews argue over which of them owns the vast underground lake beneath the city, those at ground level are involved in a much more simple argument – who should live and who should die? As Michael struggles with his own salvation will he know who to trust and who to destroy?
Yesterday’s Weather by Anne Enright
Paperback; 10 Euro / 13 Euro / 8.50 UK; 308 pages [Add To Basket]
In "Yesterday's Weather", Booker Prize-winning author Anne Enright presents a series of deeply moving stories about women stirred, bothered, or fascinated by men they cannot understand, or understand too well. Enright's characters are haunted by the ghosts of the lives they might have led - lit by new flames, old flames, and flames that are guttering out. A woman's one night stand is illuminated by dreams of a young boy on a cliff road, another's is thwarted by a swarm of somnolent bees. A pregnant woman is stuck in a slow lift with a tactile American stranger, a naked mother changes a nappy in a hotel bedroom, and waits for her husband to come back from the bar. These are sharp, vivid stories of loss and yearning, of surrender to responsibilities or to unexpected delight; all share the unsettling, dislocated reality, the subversive wit and awkward tenderness that have marked Anne Enright as one of Ireland’s most thrillingly gifted writers.
Leaving the World by Douglas Kennedy
Large Format Paperback; 14 Euro / 20 USD / 11 UK; 451 pages [Add To Basket]
Years after vowing to herself and her parents to never marry, have children and lead the resentful life they chose, Jane, now a Harvard professor, falls unexpectedly pregnant. Resolved as she’s been to childlessness, she begins to warm to the idea of motherhood, even with a partner who is increasingly absent. But a devastating turn of events takes the decision out of her hands in a way she could never have predicted.
Her familiar world torn apart, Jane feels forced to leave her old life behind. She resigns from her job, cuts all ties with friends and family and moves to a place where no one will find her. Isolated, she feels she has finally succeeded in leaving her world.
Yet when a young girl disappears, prompting a high-profile police investigation, Jane is drawn in. Convinced that the person at the heart of the case is much closer to her new community than anyone realises, she has to make a decision to either stay hidden or bring to light a shocking truth.
Council of the Cursed by Peter Tremayne
Paperback; 10 Euro / 13 USD / 8.50 UK; 400 pages [Add To Basket]
While investigating the savage murder of a religious magnate, Sister Fidelma uncovers a dark world of slavery and abuse within the abbey walls, in Peter Tremayne's thrilling new mystery.
It is AD 670, and Bishop Leodegar has called the church leaders together for an emergency meeting. But a fierce row breaks out and the assembly descends into chaos. Later that evening one of the delegates is discovered murdered, his skull brutally smashed. Sister Fidelma and her companion, Brother Eadulf, unwittingly find themselves in the middle of a shocking murder investigation involving the most powerful religious leaders in the land. The disappearance of women and children and rumours of a slave trade indicate malevolent forces at work. To catch those responsible, Fidelma and Eadulf must challenge these fearsome individuals and in doing so, risk their own lives…
The Temple of Academe by Ross O’Carroll-Kelly
Paperback; 14 Euro / 18 USD / 12 UK; 500+ pages [Add To Basket]
The Miseducation Years and The Teenage Dirtbag Years, together in a single volume. The Miseducation Years - So there I was, roysh, putting the 'in' in 'in crowd', hanging out, pick of the babes, bills from the old pair to fund the lifestyle I, like, totally deserve. But being a schools rugby legend has its downsides, roysh, like all the total knobs wanting to chill in your, like, reflected glory, and the bunny-boilers who decide they want to be with me and won't take, like, no for an answer. And we're talking totally here. Basically, it may look like a champagne bath with, like, Nell McAndrew, with, like, no clothes and everything, but I can tell you, roysh, those focking bubbles can burst. And when they do a?| OH MY GOD! The Teenage Dirtbag Years - So there I was, roysh, class legend, schools rugby legend, basically all-round legend, when someone decides you can't, like, sit the Leaving Cert four times. Well that put a focking spanner in the works. But joining the goys at college wasn't the mare I thought it would be, basically for, like, three major reasons: beer, women and more women. And for once I agree with Fionn about the, like, education possibilities. I mean, where else can you learn about Judge Judy, laminating fake IDs and, like, how to order a Ken and snog a girl at the same time? I may be beautiful, roysh, but I'm not stupid and this much I totally know: college focking rocks.
Unconquered City by Diarmuid Scully
Paperback; 13.50 Euro / 18 USD / 10.50 UK; 195 pages [Add To Basket]
On the morning of August 9 th 1690 the most powerful army in Europe, personally led by William Prince of Orange, blasted a 300 foot gap in the walls of Limerick and marched into the city. 30,000 professional soldiers drawn from all across Northern Europe fought their way through the narrow streets against just 8.000 badly trained and poorly armed defenders. Only one outcome seemed possible. But that was not to reckon with the women of Limerick. Arming themselves with kitchen knives, cobblestones and broken bottles they charged the invading army with such ferocity that they stopped it in its tracks and gave their men-folk the chance to regroup and counterattack. The city was saved and the course of Irish and European history changed. This novel sets out to tell the story of the men and women who fought at Limerick. It does so both through the lives of the ordinary citizens and soldiers, and those of the better known historical figures of the time - William of Orange, Patrick Sarsfield. Tyrconnell and de Boisseallau. It begins with the arrival of the Irish army at Limerick on July 8th defeated and demoralised after the Battle of the Boyne, and takes the story forward to August 9 th and the heroic stand of the defenders of Limerick - abandoned by their king, deserted by their French allies, facing impossible odds, and yet emerging triumphant. The raid at Ballyneety and the Siege itself form the major set pieces of the book. But it also gives a sense of the conflict as it was experienced by those within the city walls and perhaps explains how it was that the inhabitants of the poorest and most disadvantaged part of a divided city became its saviours in its hour of need.
The Kinsella Sisters by Kate Thompson
Paperback; 8 Euro / 10 USD / 7 UK; 434 pages [Add To Basket]
Sisters Rio and Dervla, are reunited at their father Frank's funeral, having been estranged since the death of their mother twenty years ago. Rio is a free-spirited, artistic type; she has juggled single parenthood with a career as Jack-of-all-trades for two decades. Meanwhile Dervla is an ambitious estate agent, a dedicated career woman; property is her raison d'etre. Their father's 19th century house overlooking the postcard pretty fishing harbour in Lissamore in the west of Ireland, has remained unchanged since the girls' mother died. While clearing the place out before the funeral, Rio and Dervla come across a suitcase containing passionate love letters to their mother from a man named Patrick. It is plain from the letters that Patrick - not Frank - was Rio's natural father. As if this shock isn't enough to bear, it transpires that Rio has been cut out of her father's will. Although Devela gifts her sister a portion of Frank's estate, Rio feels at a loss when the rest of her family leave home. The arrival of Adair Burke - the divorced millionaire - brings back some excitement into her life.Meanwhile Adair's daughter, Izzy, finds herself falling for Rio's son, Finn during a chance meeting in Thailand. A sparkling mix of warm characters, breath-taking location and issues such as empty nest syndrome, old flames and finding a place you can truly call home combine in this must-read blockbuster.
God Save the Village Green by Keith Cullen
Hardback; 20 Euro / 26 USD / 16 UK; 230 pages [Add To Basket]
"What’s wrong with being a housewife?" asks Bill of his teenage girlfriend. "Nothing," replies Phyllis, "as long as it comes naturally." But after escaping an Ireland where she "couldn't give a tinker's curse for the bloody I.R.A., hurling or Gaelic", Phyllis finds the only things that come naturally within family life in working-class London are random beatings, casual racism and emotional brutality. God Save The Village Green is a vicious portrait of a London-Irish family at odds with itself. An explicit kitchen-sink drama set in Barking between the mid 1960s and the early 1980s, it centres on dysfunction, lost opportunities and violent, drunken reactions in a family that’s coming apart at the seams. The story of the Knighton family is only going to play out one way. Or is it?
Please note: Prices were correct at time of original posting but are subject to subsequent change without notice.
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