Esther is Now Following You
By Tanya Sweeney
Most of us will find the actions of this book’s protagonist pretty hard to understand. Sure, she has a crush on a Canadian actor whom she happened to pass in a London park at one stage. She then immerses herself in fan groups and online communities following (and reporting creepily on) his every move. But when she cleans out herself and her husband’s savings account and moves country just to be closer to the man she can imagine herself loving, that’s when things start to go quickly pear-shaped. What’s bubbling away under the surface is a less than shiny childhood and a loss that Esther has trouble dealing with. But her actions still seem extreme and hard to understand. Sweeney, who works as a journalist, has spoken about the many years of fending off extreme fans, and the way in which things have worsened following the stratospheric rise of social media.
Said the Dead
By Doireann ní Ghríofa
It’s really hard to know what to say about Said the Dead. Anyone who read A Ghost in the Throat will have some idea how Doireann ní Ghríofa approaches books – if you’re looking for straightforward plot, character and story development you might need to look elsewhere. It’s the kind of book that almost defies description – but it lands straight in the solar plexus with a thud, and it stayed with me for weeks after I read it. The narrator, referred to throughout as The Reader, is drawn to the derelict psychiatric hospital near her home and her feelings about the imposing stone structure lead her to a deep dive into the Cork City and County Archives, where she immerses herself in the lives of patients and their treatment and the doctor’s records of their recoveries … or otherwise. There’s history, heartbreak, and a story that will carry you away as if you are in a dream at times. It’s a beautiful meditation on mental health, mental illness and how Ireland deals with both, and with its past.
Prestige Drama
By Séamas O’Reilly
Séamas O’Reilly’s memoir – Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? – was something of a hit when it was published back in 2021 and this, his first novel, shows plenty of the same humor and poignancy throughout. Set in Derry, it features some of the people working on a new series set during the Troubles. Each chapter is narrated by a different person, including the screenwriter and various local people with connections to the story. When Monica Logue, the famous American actor who’s flown in to play the lead, goes missing, it looks as though things are going to take another turn altogether. Although a slender book, it’s one that packs a lot in – commentary on the monetization of human tragedy and who has the right to tell the story when there’s more than one way of looking at things. It’s humor, though, that makes it so utterly enjoyable and entertaining. One character, Dympna, wonders if the actor has an issue with addiction, but then dismisses it: “Sure there’s nuns in Derry drink more than these fluthers and no one bats an eyelid.”
The Life Swap
By Jeananne Craig
Sisters Sinead and Sarah have always been different. Sarah steps up and takes responsibility, most particularly than when she’s left as a single mother to her young twins. Sinead, meanwhile, has been in the habit of letting everyone down – her boss, her friends, her late mother and her big sister. When Sarah gets the acting offer of a lifetime, but needs somebody to look after her kids, it coincides with Sinead losing her job and needing to cover her rent. The stage is neatly set for a life swap – Sarah will stay in Sinead’s Belfast flat and cover expenses for the duration of the filming; Sinead will live in Dublin during the week and look after her nephew and niece. While Sarah relishes the few stolen moments of spare time she has when the cameras have stopped rolling, Sinead initially finds it harder to be subsumed into the so-called School Mamz group. Will these up-close examinations of how the other half lives finally get the sisters and their relationship back on track? A warm, amusing read.
Our Deadly Summer
By Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
Fans of this duo’s Aisling series of books will, no doubt, be disappointed to hear that there’s no sign of the Ballygobbard girl in this newest book. But the Aisling themes are very much intact – friendship, rural mammies and daddies, and new experiences. Dee and Laura struck up an intense friendship in college – Trinity, to be precise – and they are now on the legendary J1 summer. It’s 2001, and they are determined that this will be the adventure of a lifetime. Laura is boy crazy and Dee … well Dee keeps a little bit quieter about her own success (or lack of) in that department. The story kicks off towards the end of the summer, when the two are panicking about what to do with the dead body on the floor of their Long Island accommodation. There’s lots of humor throughout as well – as the two girls and their roommates struggle to acclimatize to the US way of doing things and the country club staff and members try to make sense of some of the Irish turns of phrase. It’s a light summer read and one that will, no doubt, be enjoyed by many at any time of year.
The Keeper
By Tana French
Tana French’s Dublin Murder series was only six books long, but it was (and continues to be!) absolutely brilliant. If you’re a crime fan and haven’t gone there, start gathering. I was a little on the fence about her newer Cal Hooper series – about a retired Chicago detective who settles halfway up a mountain in Ireland and slowly becomes embedded into the rural community. By the second book I was more convinced and book three, just out, is an absolute page-turner. But I’m hearing that The Keeper is the final in the Hooper trilogy, which will be disappointing news to those who are already firm French fans. We’ll just have to wait and see what she does next! On a cold night in the remote west of Ireland village of Ardnakelty, Rachel Holohan goes missing. She was due to get engaged but now her body is found in the river. Her boyfriend’s father is the local bigshot, who seems to have ominous plans for the area. Some of the locals are ready to passionately defend their turf – will Cal join them? With suspense galore, this is sure to be a firm favorite.
After Annie
By Anna Quindlen
As with all of Anna Quindlen’s writing, After Annie is a gorgeous hug of a book that just envelops you from the start, the words gently caressing your senses while you read. Her people are the real deal – full of empathy and emotion, prone to messing up, but always acutely aware of each other and their place in the world. The family of Annie Brown is completely devastated when she dies suddenly while making dinner one regular evening. Her husband Bill can’t make sense of a world that doesn’t have his Annie in it. Thirteen-year-old Ali tries her best for her younger brothers Benjy and Jamie while Ant, the oldest of the boys, is in danger of being overwhelmed by the all-encompassing anger that settles on his chest. Annie’s best friend Annemarie knows she has her dead friend to thank for her sobriety, and she’s not sure if she can sustain it without Annie. We watch as Quindlen gently follows the family for the first year of their bereavement – Annie’s voice still ever-present in their heads and, more importantly, in their hearts. If you are newly bereaved this may be too much for you, but it is a beautiful capturing of love and loss.
The Island Retreat
By Cathy Kelly
This one is sure to be snapped up by the legions of Cathy Kelly devotees out there. It’s full of her usual warmth, this time quite literally as it’s set in Corfu in the height of summer. Rose Talisman left her TV therapy show after it all started to go pear-shaped. Now she’s running an island retreat with her sister and brother-in-law. The first six guests include Dianne, an Australian widow with extreme anger issues; Keera, a well-known singer who feels she has run out of road; and Dan, who seems completely devoted to a girlfriend who blows hot and cold. What will emerge over the course of their two-week stay? And what is Rose herself hiding?
Saoirse
By Charleen Hurtubise
Set in Donegal in 1999, with flashbacks to various times through the previous ten years, Saoirse introduces us to, obviously, Saoirse. She wasn’t always Saoirse – she started her life as Sarah and as her story gradually unwinds, we learn that she is desperately trying to put her past behind her. Her ill-fated relationship with student doctor Paul proves to be a hindrance rather than a help, although she is grateful for his family’s shelter. Paul turns out to be one of the worst kinds of men – always finding fault and keen to see her wrong-footed. Thankfully, she meets the love of her life and is starting to carve out quite a career for herself as an artist when her past comes rushing back to meet her head-on and Saoirse is catapulted off course in the worst way. She’s a complex woman who finds it difficult to open up but also struggles with keeping so much hidden. The author’s first book was The Polite Act of Drowning which was very popular with readers and book clubs in 2023.
A Beautiful Loan
By Mary Costello
Like Saoirse, this is a book with another complicated central character, and it’s another engrossing read. Anna is in college when she first meets Peter. He’s older but won’t tell her how old. She falls for him quickly, but he specializes in keeping her at arm’s length – the relationship, if it could even be called that, is always on his terms. It’s Dublin in the 1980s – a world of Ton Ton Macoute gigs and Xtra-Vision and ads for flat rentals in The Evening Herald. As we follow Anna through the next couple of decades it becomes clear that her father’s description of her as “a kind, gentle girl” is spot on. But what happens when kind, gentle girls get the chance to put themselves first for a change? Anna’s rich inner voice leads us into her deepest thoughts as she tries to make sense of the world and her place in it. But like real life, in the end, there’s always a little hidden bit that just can’t be reached no matter how hard you try.
Secrets Between Friends
By Sheila O’Flanagan
Ailie, Sybil and Rua have grief common when they meet by chance on a random Dublin evening. Ailie is the most recently widowed of the three, having lost her husband suddenly just months before. She’s glad that at least she won’t have deal with his demanding Italian family anymore, but now her teenage daughter wants to spend time getting to know that side of her heritage. Sybil, meanwhile, has been widowed for a few years and she thinks she is coping very well but her sister is pushing her to put herself back ‘out’ there. And Rua is learning how to smile again after two traumatic events – she has started to plan for things again in her life but is most focused on protecting her daughter. When the three women meet, and then look forward to getting together again, they find great comfort in knowing others who have experienced a similar loss. And they have good advice to share with each other, which helps them navigate some tricky situations. An enjoyable read from Scanlan.
The Irish Goodbye
By Heather Aimee O’Neill
This is a great read for anyone who likes the family saga that follows a (usually dysfunctional) bunch for a couple of decades. In this case, the Ryan sisters are heading home for Thanksgiving together, for the first time in years. They lost their brother Topher tragically about 20 years earlier, and they are all still struggling with the fallout of that. The whole truth behind the boat accident that led to his death never really emerged at the time, and eldest sister Cait is finding it hard to forgive herself. Middle sister Alice is dealing with something that threatens to derail her planned career, and possibly her marriage. And then there’s Maggie, the baby, who is defiantly bringing her girlfriend home, despite her very Catholic mother’s disapproval. A family Thanksgiving – the perfect setting for all kinds of things to go pear-shaped.
Other People’s Lives
By Kathleen MacMahon
Justine Maguire and Iseult O’Sullivan have been best friends since they were small, living next door and jumping through life’s twists and turns in tandem. Now, at nearly 50, they are still best friends – they don’t see each other as often, but they’re in constant contact. Justine married Iseult’s older brother John – after years of adoring him across the table – and they live in her childhood home, still next door to the O’Sullivans. Sometimes, when Justine has time to muse, she wonders about whether she chose the best life for herself. That’s when she’s not keeping the fridge stocked for her voracious teenage twin sons or helping her daughter plan the dream wedding that – Justine thinks – she really shouldn’t be planning at 23. She also worries a lot about her sister-in-law, having seen enough through the years to suggest that Iseult’s marriage is not a happy one. Reminiscent of Ann Patchett, this is a beautifully written observation on marriage, midlife, family, love and frustration – with many laugh-out-loud flashes of wit and humor throughout.
A Mind of My Own
By Kathy Burke
If I have one regret about reading this memoir, it’s that I didn’t opt for the audiobook – read by Kathy herself – instead. Like many other audio memoirs (including those by Gabriel Byrne, Sinéad O’Connor and Bono) it just adds a whole other level when you hear the person themselves telling you their story. Having said that, whether you go for the print or audio version you are in for a treat. Kathy Burke is exactly as you’d expect her to be – she tells it as it is and she takes no nonsense from anyone. Perhaps it’s a result of her having to put up with quite a lot of nonsense (and worse) from her alcoholic father when she was growing up. Her mother died when she was just two and her father didn’t do a brilliant job of raising his three children alone. Kathy’s foray into acting is recounted here, as are the various memories of famous people she worked with or encountered along the way. She had no time for Shane McGowan, finding his “erratic personality” difficult, and absolutely hated Irish impresario Noel Pearson and her time on the Dancing at Lughnasa film. But she speaks highly of her respect for directors like Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. It’s a really interesting read, however you choose to access it.
Beneath the Cedar Tree
By Frank Shouldice
If Brendan and Irene Gogarty are united in their hate for the man responsible for the death of their 12-year-son Cathal, it’s not that surprising. But it’s about all that unites them five years after their boy’s tragic death. They have nothing to talk about anymore, each locked in their own silent misery. On hearing that Patrick James McGeedy has been granted early release from prison, they find themselves determined to get revenge. When they run out of steam in that regard, Brendan books a trip to Medjugorje, despite neither of them having any religious leanings, hoping it will shake something out of them. When they meet a Bosnian couple whose lives have been torn apart by war, they start to look at things differently. A quietly moving book.
Leave a Reply