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 … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Books
“The Good Sport”
In this excerpt from his memoir The Good Sport, Kevin White takes us on his journey as an Irish Catholic kid growing up in “blue-collar” Amityville on Long Island while scrambling to help his parents make ends meet, to the position of “the best of the best” among intercollegiate athletic directors of his generation. Navigating the winding roads, with endless rotaries, up to … [Read more...] about “The Good Sport”
An Interview with T. J English
IA Newsletter October 22, 2022
Having spent decades writing about crooks and killers, what seedy corner of America’s immigrant underworld could best-selling author TJ English explore next? Jazz, of course! OK, this might seem like a strange fit. In books like The Westies and Where the Bodies are Buried, English took a close look at ruthless Irish American gangsters from Hell’s Kitchen to South Boston. Then … [Read more...] about An Interview with T. J English
Summer Reading
Snowflake By Louise Nealon There’s been a huge buzz about Louise Nealon ever since word of her debut novel was announced, with many reviewers and critics calling her the next Sally Rooney. Maybe they should all leave the Mayo writer to be the current and next Sally Rooney, however, and come up with different descriptors for almost every other Irish female writer under 30. … [Read more...] about Summer Reading
Spending Time With Alice
Tom Deignan first interviewed Alice McDermott as a young journalist. He looks back now on her literary career over the past 20 years and talks to her about her new non-fiction book What About the Baby? Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction. For four decades now, Alice McDermott has dazzled the literary world in a fashion nearly as subtle and cunning as her fiction. We almost … [Read more...] about Spending Time With Alice





