Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 453
Irish Fiction
25/26 July 2009
The Space Between by John MacKenna
Large Format Paperback; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 9 UK; 250 pages
"The Space Between Us" tells the story of an Irish architect who loses his wife, Beth, in a car accident, and is left to bring up his three-year-old daughter alone. In the immediate aftermath of Beth's death, his emotions lurch from relief to guilt: relief because he no longer has to pretend to have any interest in a relationship that has been falling apart for some time, and guilt because he did not have the courage to talk to Beth before her death. As time goes by, and his daughter Jane grows up, father and daughter grow closer. The reader gradually realises that this relationship is not as it should be. This is a disturbing and shocking story, deftly told.
Not Untrue & Not Unkind by Ed O’Loughlin
Large Format Paperback; 14 Euro / 20 USD / 10 UK; 275 pages [Add To Basket]
In Dublin, a newspaper editor called Cartwright is found dead. One of his colleagues, Owen Simmons, discovers a dossier on Cartwright’s desk. And in the dossier Owen finds a photograph, which brings him back to a dusty road in Africa and to the woman he once loved. Not Untrue and Not Unkind is Owen’s story – a gripping story of friendship, rivalry and betrayal amongst a group of journalists and photographers covering Africa’s wars. It is an astonishingly powerful and accomplished debut that immediately establishes Ed O'Loughlin as a mature master of the novel form.
Other Comments: 'A fine, darkly authoritative novel' - Joseph O'Neill, author of NETHERLAND 'Fantastic writing, great subject; a voice that is both passionate and cold. The most exciting first novel I have read in many years' - Anne Enright, Man Booker Prize winning author of THE GATHERING
The Pauper’s Graveyard by Gemma Mawdsley
Paperback; 11 Euro / 16 USD / 9 UK; 284 pages
Deep in the corner of this graveyard lies the cause of such unrest, Jack Carey, christened 'Black Jack' by those who knew him in life. Death has not stopped his tormenting. His evil moves through the soil like a tentacle, tainting everything it touches, spreading misery and unrest. It moves over the bones of the dead. A dark shadow, that prods them awake, and this would have continued throughout time except for the ambitions of one man, a builder. Grim and fast paced, this remarkable debut novel is an exploration of loss and tragedy. When the teeth of the big earth movers disturb the bones of those that lie in fretful sleep they start a chain of disaster that results in the resurrection of a terrible evil that was buried among the famine victims. The planned dream homes became the stuff of nightmares for their occupants, as Black Jack Carey is once again released, to torment both the living and the dead.It would have been wiser to let him sleep.
Glover’s Mistake by Nick Laird
Paperback; 14 Euro / 29 USD / 11 UK; 245 pages [Add To Basket]
From a rising young novelist comes an artful meditation on love and life in contemporary London. When David Pinner introduces his former teacher, the American artist Ruth Marks, to his friend and flatmate James Glover, he unwittingly sets in place a love triangle loaded with tension, guilt and heartbreak. As David plays reluctant witness (and more) to James and Ruth's escalating love affair, he must come to terms with his own blighted emotional life. Set in the London art scene awash with new money and intellectual pretension, in the sleek galleries and posh restaurants of a Britannia resurgent with cultural and economic power, Nick Laird's insightful and drolly satirical novel vividly portrays three people whose world gradually fractures along the fault lines of desire, truth and jealousy. With wit and compassion, Laird explores the very nature of contemporary romance, among damaged souls whose hearts and heads never quite line up long enough for them to achieve true happiness.
Tracking Giorgione by Thomas Kadebo
Paperback with Endflaps; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 10 UK; 211 pages [Add To Basket]
“The scale is enormous, the thrust of the narrative vivid and precise... A brilliant story of ideas, and also a story of personal love...” Mary O’Donnell
In this remarkable novel by an acclaimed Hungarian author, a British art historian of Italian extraction conducts from London a long pursuit of lost paintings of Giorgione, one of the most seminal, intriguing and mysterious figures in European painting. He involves in his research his students, family and friends, travelling to Switzerland, England, the Czech Republic, Italy, Greece and finally to Dublin.
While the search reveals fakes, copies and probabilities, we learn about the “real” lives of the inquirers: their aspirations, their fortunes and misfortunes, their conflicts, their religious clashes and their views on existence. And as the story unfolds, relationships develop, flourish, change and decline. This is a confident, assured European novel from an award-winning author.
Talking to Kate by Tom Nestor
Paperback; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 11 UK; 245 pages [Add To Basket]
Granddad? Yes, Kate. Do all old people die? In this uplifting and beautifully written memoir, Tom Nestor recounts conversations with his five-year-old granddaughter, Kate. In their chats and the thoughts prompted by what the inquisitive Kate says or does, Tom now in his seventies realises what a sea change has taken place in Ireland in the space of a single generation. He shares his experiences and the wisdom that comes with the perspective of years, hoping to instil in Kate his appreciation of the beauty of the natural world, an understanding of life and relationships, and guidance for how Kate and her generation might cope with life s future trials and tribulations. Tom Nestor sees life with a poet s eye and in Talking to Kate his memories of childhood and his conversations with the precocious and innocent Kate will enchant and enlighten.
The Butterfly State by Carol Coffey
Paperback; 8 Euro / 11 USD / 7 UK; 397 pages [Add To Basket]
Could a ten year old girl be guilty of murder? Wrong place, wrong time or could a ten year girl be guilty of murder? The Butterfly State is the story of a Co. Wicklow family whose lives are forever altered when their violent, alcoholic father is murdered by the lakeshore near their home. Tess his eleven year old autistic daughter is charged with the murder, having been found standing over the body with the murder weapon in her hand. Tess is sent to an institution for ten years and her sibling’s lives are equally ruined. Her sister’s engagement is off. Her older brother sinks into alcoholism while her younger, more severely autistic brother is left in the reluctant care of the two older siblings. Tess’s return home opens old wounds and brings about a chain of events that reveals what really happened at the lake. Tess’s return culminates in salvation for her sister while her brother spirals further into self destruction, believing that she is secretly planning his downfall.
Barefoot Over Stones by Liz Lyons
Large Paperback; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 10 UK; 318 pages
What would it take to destroy your closest friendship? Alison and Ciara meet at college in Dublin and soon become firm allies, sharing a flat and facing the world together. Ciara is all that Alison aspires to be - sassy, confident and fearless. Although their backgrounds could not be more different, they find solace and humour in each other's company. That is until gorgeous Dan Abernethy, a young medical student, enters their lives, and everything changes irrevocably. Friendship loses out when love turns Alison's world upside down and a terrible betrayal threatens the closeness known only to best friends. It is only when tragedy strikes many years later that Alison and Ciara are able to discover the redemptive power of true friendship.
Designer Genes by Emma Hannigan
Large Paperback; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 10 UK; 430 pages [Add To Basket]
Emily Cusack has it all sorted. A loving husband, two adorable kids and a gorgeous home. All she needs now is an au pair, for life to be truly perfect. Her friend Susie is content too. A brilliant psychotherapist, she's got an elegant flat, a wardrobe full of ball-busting suits, a sleek sports car and doesn't need a man, thank you very much. The only jeans the friends normally encounter are the designer version. Then Emily learns about genes of a different kind and how she could be a carrier of a cancer-causing one. Emily doesn t take much lying down and deals with this in her decisive way. But can her marriage survive the aftershock? Emily's news rocks Susie and makes her take a long hard look at her own self-sufficient life. Brought up by her loving but ditzy single mum, Susie has never known her father. Now she decides to do something about it. But she s in for more than she bargains for! One thing's for sure life will never be the same again after a trip on this roller-coaster of discovery.
Comments from Irish Author Cathy Kelly about this book: 'Fabulously funny and heartbreakingly poignant at the same time, Designer Genes tells an incredible story. Emma Hannigan has a strong, vibrant voice that'll touch you on every page.' --Cathy Kelly
Just the Three of Us by Clare Dowling
Large Paperback; 15 Euro / 20 USD / 11 UK; 306 pages [Add To Basket]
Debs is having an affair with a married man. Not that she meant to or anything. But while she was miserably hanging around waiting for Mr Right – if only she could lose that stubborn half stone – Bob just kind of happened. Lovely, kind, sexy Bob. OK, he's also a rampant cheat, but when you've been starved of affection for as long as Debs has, it's hard to say no.
Geri is married to Bob. She also thinks he’s lovely, kind and sexy, even if the last bit has worn a bit thin after seventeen years of marriage. And two kids. And the horrible sound he makes brushing his teeth in the mornings. But that’s the reality of marriage for you, or is it? Geri suspects something's wrong but surely Bob would never do anything to hurt her...
The Truth Will Out by Anna McPartlin
Paperback; 9 Euro / 13 USD / 8 UK; 358 pages [Add To Basket]
Ever get the feeling you don't really belong in your family, that you're completely different to your relatives? That's how 30-year-old interior decorator Harri Ryan has felt since she was a child despite being close to George, her twin brother, and loving parents Gloria and Duncan. It's the second time Harri has tried to marry her fiancé James, and the second time she's had a panic attack, ended up in hospital in her wedding dress and the celebrations have to be called off. Harri has lost the love of her life, but there's more to it than wedding nerves and this time she wants the truth. George suspects there's something their parents aren't telling them. But in one week all will be revealed and their lives will change forever. And Harri's not the only one suffering a crisis George and his partner Aidan are struggling, her friend Susan thinks her marriage is dead and friend Melissa wants to kill her hubby. Something's got to give, but can they all come through this difficult time and find happiness? No matter what you do, the truth will out.
The Disengagement Ring by Clodagh Murphy
Large Format Paperback; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 10 UK; 350 pages [Add To Basket]
A summer cooking for an ultra-cool rock band sounds like the job of Kate O’Neill’s dreams. So, when Will Sargent, manager of Walking Wounded, asks her to cook for the band while they record their new album in Tuscany, she jumps at the chance. Even though it means spending three months apart from her fiancé Brian, it gives her a chance to get away from her interfering, eccentric family who’ve made it all too clear that they don’t approve of her engagement. But little does Kate know that the job is all part of a plot hatched by her mother, Grace, to scupper Kate’s wedding plans. Brian, a wannabe New Age shaman, has never fit in with the larger-than-life O’Neills and Grace is convinced that Will, old family friend and unrequited love of Kate’s life, could provide a change of direction for Kate’s affections. But Grace doesn’t count on Will’s glamorous, model girlfriend, Tina who is determined to hang on to him at all costs. As the long, hot Tuscan days drift by, temperatures in the villa start to heat up. Will Kate finally learn to stand up to her meddlesome mother or will she find her feelings for Will are stronger than ever?
Damsel by S.E. Connolly
Paperback; 9 Euro / 13 USD / 7 UK; 160 pages [Add To Basket]
The dragon roared and the clearing filled with shining whiteness. The flames burned with the pure deadly brightness that can only come from dragon fire. Annie closed her eyes but the scene imprinted on her vision; The knight tall and proud with his sword raised high and the dragon on her haunches, wings spread wide above them. When she opened her eyes all that was left of him was red hot armor glowing on the ground and a skittish grey mare neighing in panic. Can a damsel ever be the one to do the rescuing? Annie Brave thinks so. Her father, one of the most famous heroes of them all, is missing, presumed eaten. With no heroes available to rescue him from the clutches of the evil wizard, Greenlott, Annie takes his book "How to Slay Dragons - and Other Advice for the Hero in Training" and sets off on a rescue mission.Teaming up with Roger of Rockfield, an honorable liar, she embarks on a series of adventures which are far from traditional. Whether these adventures involve Annie saving Roger from giant spiders or Annie and Roger dealing with the amorous advances of a prince frog (not to be confused with a frog prince) every incident leads them further on a voyage of self-discovery they never intended to make. For Ages 8 to 12.
The Dare by John Boyne
Paperback; 3 Euro / 5 USD / 2 UK; 103 pages [Add To Basket]
At the start of his school holidays, Danny Delaney is looking forward to a trouble-free summer. But when his mother returns home one afternoon, flanked by two policemen, he knows that something terrible has happened. Mrs Delaney has accidentally hit a small boy with her car. The boy is in a coma at the local hospital and nobody knows if he will ever wake up. Consumed by guilt, Danny's mother closes herself off, while Danny and his father are left to pick up the pieces of their fractured family. Told in John Boyne's unique style from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy, "The Dare" is a brilliantly compelling story about how one moment can change a family forever.
Please note: Prices were correct at time of original posting but are subject to subsequent change without notice.
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