Young Skins By Colin Barrett Glanbeigh, the fictional Everytown of Mayo native Colin Barrett’s Young Skins, is “nowhere you have been, but you know its ilk,” asserts the narrator of the collection’s opening short story. Barrett borrows from the techniques of William Faulkner and Gabriel García Márquez, immediately setting his debut book in the tradition of literary giants – … [Read more...] about Review of Books
review of books
Review of Books
SHORT FICTION Belfast Noir Edited by Adrian McKinty & Stuart Neville Belfast, a city of conflicting allegiances and a dark and turbulent past, seems a perfect setting for Akashic’s latest “noir” anthology. Belfast Noir is presented as “an important snapshot” of the city’s burgeoning crime-writing community featuring stories from some of Ireland’s best-known crime writers … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Review of Books
Non-Fiction The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce’s Ulysses By Kevin Birmingham With the publication of Kevin Birmingham’s The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce’s Ulysses some people may be asking: do we really need another book about James Joyce? The answer after reading Birmingham’s debut novel is an enthusiastic yes! Much more than just a book … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Review of Books
Fiction Someone By Alice McDermott Someone captures the universal experience of life’s joys and tragedies in the story of Marie Commeford, a most unremarkable woman. The novel begins in Depression-era Brooklyn as Marie, a myopic 7-year-old sitting on the stoop waiting for her father, chats with a teenage neighbor, Pegeen. Despite Marie’s bottle-bottom glasses, she still … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Review of Books
Recently published books of Irish and Irish-American interest. Fiction The Blessings By Elise Juska There’s a certain kind of belonging that comes with being part of a large, extended Irish-American family. But, there’s a certain kind of loneliness, too. In The Blessings, Elise Juska captures how those mirror emotions of homesickness and restlessness, intimacy and … [Read more...] about Review of Books