Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 482
24/25 July 2010
New in Paperback
The Bombing of Dublin’s North Strand by Kevin C. Kearns
Large Format Paperback; 15 Euro / 20 USD / 10 UK; 380 pages, with five 8-page black-and-white photo inserts
On a gloriously starry night four bombs fell, the last and most devastating at precisely 2:05 a.m. on 31 May. There was a thunderous explosion and the earth quaked. Tremors were felt as far away as Enniskerry and Mullingar. Panic and pandemonium reigned in a "city seized with fear". Destruction was astonishingohomes and shops in the North Strand were largely demolished, 2,250 buildings in the city suffered some bomb damage, over forty people were killed, about 100 seriously injured, many more wounded. Hospitals and morgues filled within hours. Almost 2,000 people were rendered homeless refugees. It would later be determined that in terms of destructive performance a monstrous "perfect bomb" had done the deed. For two-thirds of a century, no book was written on what the Evening Herald proclaimed a "Night of Horror". Later called a "seismic event" in Dublin's history. Finally, near the end of the century both the Irish Military Archive and Dublin City Archive declassified their documents on the bombing o some stamped "Secret" for sixty years. At last, the theories and myths long surrounding the mysterious incident could be examined in the light of real evidence. But the heart of a book on so human a tragedy is the oral historical testimony of survivors, rescuers and observers who provide graphic eye-witness accounts. This is a narrative social history of immense human drama. An on-the-scene account of calamity, terror, heroism and survival. And a mystery lingering long thereafter. This is the untold tale of a great historical event and human tragedy that has long needed telling.
Who Really Runs Ireland by Matt Cooper
Paperback; 10 Euro / 14 USD / 8 UK; 496 pages [Add To Basket]
Having money and not having it; making it and losing it; using it and misusing it; giving it and taking it ...this is the story of Ireland during the boom, described in jaw-dropping detail in "Who Really Runs Ireland?". Leading journalist Matt Cooper has consistently broken stories that the powerful would prefer had not been disclosed. Now, he identifies the most powerful people in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger era, describes how they interacted with each other to mutual benefit, and reveals who are the few to retain their power amid the debris arising from the bursting of our economic bubble. In particular, Cooper focuses on the role of new-found wealth in Ireland and examines how the volume of money sloshing about influenced the exercise of power, sometimes in ways that were to the detriment of the larger society. Cooper reveals stories you will not have read before, makes the connections you may not have spotted and provides insights and explanations to stories you may have forgotten that uncover what really goes on.
Not Untrue Not Unkind by Ed O’Loughlin
Paperback; 10 Euro / 14 USD / 8 UK; 288 pages
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, once again, 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. A remarkably assured and mature debut, it is a tale utterly for our times. Other Comments: Superb (The Times ); A simply brilliant debut by an author of great poise and power (Tim Butcher, Author Of Blood River); A page-turning novel … gripping (Daily Mail ); Graceful (Guardian );
Winterland by Alan Glynn
Paperback; 9 Euro / 13 USD / 7.50 UK; [Add To Basket]
The worlds of business, politics and crime collide when two men with the same name, from the same family, die on the same night - one death is a gangland murder, the other, apparently, a road accident. Was it a coincidence? That's the official version of events. But then a family member, Gina Rafferty, starts asking questions. Devastated by her loss, Gina's grief is tempered, and increasingly fuelled, by anger. The more she hears that it was all a coincidence - that gangland violence is commonplace; that people die on our roads every day of the week - the less she's prepared to accept it. Told repeatedly that she should stop asking questions, she becomes more determined than ever to establish a connection between the two deaths - and in doing so she embarks on a path that will push certain powerful people to their limits.
Glover’s Mistake by Nick Laird
Paperback; 9 Euro / 13 USD / 7.50 UK; 304 pages [Add To Basket]
The second novel from exciting, young novelist Nick Laird -- 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.
Bloody Mary by Mary Coughlan
Paperback; 10 Euro / 14 USD / 8 UK; 288 pages [Add To Basket]
Since she rose to international fame in 1985 with her seminal Irish jazz album Tired and Emotional, Mary Coughlan’s battles with addiction, the problems in her personal life and career have been well documented. But until now she has never spoken of the traumatic events in her childhood that led to a life of rebellion, running away, and reliance on drugs and alcohol. In this funny, moving and typically outspoken memoir, Ireland’s best-loved jazz singer pulls no punches in getting to the heart of what made Mary so contrary. Detailing her battles with the bottle, her suicide attempts and her confinement in psychiatric hospitals, Mary tells of how, after hitting rock-bottom, she pulled herself out of the dregs of a vodka bottle to confront the foundations of her problems head-on. As she tells her story – with a ribald, running commentary on the highs and lows of celebrity culture – we get to experience an alternative evolution of Ireland in the ’70s and ’80s, populated with hippies, rock stars and movie moguls, and one wild Irish girl determined to live a life less ordinary.
What Would Ma Say by Kathleen Doyle
Paperback; 11 Euro / 16 USD / 9 UK; 315 pages [Add To Basket]
Ma came from inner city Dublin, an ordinary woman with very little education behind her. But maybe not so ordinary in the way she learned how to survive and handle life. Kathleen Doyle never had a childhood. She was always the big sister, the one her siblings turned to when her mother was working and her father drinking. Born into a tenement flat in Dublin before moving to Crumlin, Kathleen grew up in the 1950s and 1960s in an Ireland we wouldn't recognise today. Her mother was the backbone, the one who kept them together as a family, stopped them sinking into poverty. But through it all, Kathleen and her eleven brothers and sisters had a laugh turning their kitchen into a swimming pool on a hot summer's day, or trying to hide a stolen pig's carcass in the bath, or eating chocolate from the dump until they all got the runs . . . Kathleen's big dream was to some day sink into a hot bath filled with bubble bath. And then Kathleen grew up, met and married Alan, and their honeymoon was a time she ll never forget . . . What Would Ma Say? is a hilarious, nostalgic reminder of a Dublin that's long gone.
Follow the Money by David McWilliams
Paperback; 10 Euro / 14 USD / 8 UK; [Add To Basket]
We catch up with old friends, Breakfast Roll Man and Miss Pencil Skirt, and meet new characters like the Merchant of Ennis, Shylock and the Godfather. We have late night tea with Brian Lenihan and cross swords with Seanie Fitzpatrick. We learn why the average drug dealer on the side of the street has more in common with the banker than either would care to mention, as we follow the money o in both rackets o from its source at the very top right down to the 'buy now, pay later' deals at rock bottom. Why should we trust the people who got us into this mess in the first place? They were wrong then and they are wrong now. The politicians, bankers and developers think they can hand us the bill and walk away from the carnage. They want us follow a route that will make things worse for the ordinary man on the street while saving the bankers at the top of the tree, insisting that there is no other way. But there is an obvious alternative which has been adopted by every economy that has successfully emerged from this type of crisis. With the same sense of fun as The Pope's Children, David McWilliams makes answering hard questions easy. In his typical breezy style, he suggests where to go from here. To be led up the garden path once in the past ten years is a tragedy; to be led up twice by the same people is unforgiveable. There is an alternative. Follow the Money is an optimistic and uplifting book about that alternative, which is well within our grasp if only we'd wake up and seize it.
Set in Stone by Catherine Dunne
Paperback ; 8 Euro / 11 USD / 6.50 UK; [Add To Basket]
Lynda Graham has been fortunate in life. She is happily married, with two wonderful children, Ciarán and Katie. She has a beautiful home and garden in one of the most affluent suburbs of Dublin. Her world feels safe and uncomplicated, one she now takes for granted. That is until Jon, a friend of Ciarán’s from university – handsome, charming and clever – inveigles his way into their lives. There’s something about Jon that Lynda finds unnerving – he is almost too perfect. And her instinct is right: Jon’s arrival sets in motion a spiral of events that contributes to the gradual disintegration of all she holds dear. When Jon leaves, his disappearance is even more destructive than his presence. Lynda’s quest to track him down reveals unpalatable truths about his past and the reason for his existence in their lives. Lynda knows that Jon is out there somewhere – watching, waiting, malevolent. And she also knows that she must do whatever it takes to protect the most precious thing she has – her family.
Come What May by Donal Og Cusack
Paperback; 9 Euro / 13 USD / 7 UK; [Add To Basket]
Dónal Óg Cusack is the most compelling and controversial figure in the GAA today. In Come What May, Dónal Óg tells the story of the highs and lows on the pitch – including three All-Ireland victories – and off it with candour and courage. This is a book about friendship and loyalty and conflict and being true to yourself. It is unlike any other Irish sporting memoir ever published.
Please note: Prices were correct at time of original posting but are subject to subsequent change without notice.
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