"Quinn has a way of making ordinary things, the ordinary or wise or inadequate thoughts of many persons in many circumstances not only convincing but merely actual: an ability that can remind a reader of James Joyce in stories like The Dead and in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man." – John Crowley (from a new addendum to his original review in the New York Times 27 … [Read more...] about Peter Quinn’s Novel Redux
Books
Timothy Egan: A Modern Day Pilgrim
By Tom Deignan In late October, media outlets around the world reported that Pope Francis had expressed support for civil unions, “a significant break from his predecessors that staked out new ground for the church in its recognition of gay people,” as the New York Times put it. It was the latest historic moment for a pope who has excited reformers within the church, … [Read more...] about Timothy Egan: A Modern Day Pilgrim
The Pull Of The Stars
By Tom Deignan Best-Selling Dublin-born author Emma Donoghue has a brilliant and timely new novel out. Set in an Irish maternity ward during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, The Pull of the Stars explores the challenges and heroism of nurses and other health care workers, while at the same time tenderly chronicling the loves and losses of their inner lives. Tom Deignan … [Read more...] about The Pull Of The Stars
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
By Carstens Smith, Contributor
October 26, 2017
October 26, 2017
The setting, Transylvania. The writing style, High Victorian. The story’s appeal, universal. But the author of one of fiction's most famous and imitated works is Irish. Carstens Smith brings us the story of Bram Stoker, the creator of Dracula. Bram Stoker, whose name is less well known than that of his creation, Dracula, was born in Dublin on November 8, 1847. He was called … [Read more...] about Bram Stoker’s Dracula