Happy St. Patrick's Day

Adding debut Irish authors to my tbr:

The Truth Will Out
by Rosemary Hennigan
Contemporary, Thriller, Ireland | Release date: March 17, 2022 | Goodreads
'Maybe I've told that version of the story so often,
that I can't remember the truth of it anymore.'

Dara Gaffney is fresh out of drama school when she lands the leading role in the revival of Eabha de Lacey's hugely successful yet controversial play.

Based on the true story of the death of Cillian Butler, many claim that Eabha had an ulterior motive when she penned it. Cillian's death remains a mystery to this day, and Eabha and her brother, Austin, the only witnesses.

As the media storm builds and the opening night draws closer, the cast find it harder and harder to separate themselves from the characters.

As the truth of Cillian's fate becomes clear, Dara's loyalty to her role will be irrevocably questioned as the terrible history starts to repeat itself..

The Deadwood Encore
by Kathleen Murray
Literary, Ireland | Release date: April 28, 2022 | Goodreads
Frank Whelan is the seventh son of a seventh son, so by now should have inherited his father's legendary healing power, but still hasn't managed to graduate beyond small-time skin afflictions.

He already feels adrift when his twin, Bernie, reveals a life-changing decision that calls into question everything Frank thought he knew about his place in the family. And then he discovers his father had been keeping secrets of his own.

And so Frank turns to an unlikely source for guidance and finds himself on a quest for answers... from this world, and the next.

The Amusements
by Aingeala Flannery
Contemporary, Ireland | Release date: June 23, 2022 | Goodreads
In the resort town of Tramore, County Waterford, visitors arrive in waves with the tourist season, reliving the best days of their childhoods at the seaside amusements. Local teenager Helen Grant is indifferent to the charm of her surroundings; infatuated with her glamorous classmate Stella Swaine, she yearns to escape with her to art college, and from there, the world. But leaving Tramore is easier said than done. With an alcoholic father and an unsympathetic mother, Helen's family life may shatter her dream, just when it seems to be within reach...

Following the Grant and Swaine families and their neighbours over three decades, The Amusements is an unforgettable story about roads taken and not taken. It is a brilliantly observed portrait of life in a small town.

AND watched: Mostly British Film Festival (details)

Deadly Cuts (2021)
Director/Writer: Rachel Carey
Stars: Angeline Ball, Ericka Roe, Lauren Larkin, Shauna Higgins
Comedy, Ireland | imdb | my rating: 5
hilarious, with an 80's vibe
A black comedy set in a working-class Dublin hair salon where the stylists become accidental vigilantes and community heroes as they take on the gang members and gentrifiers threatening their community.

End of Sentence (2019)
Director: Elfar Adalsteins
Writer: Michael Armbruster
Stars: John Hawkes, Logan Lerman
Drama, Ireland | imdb | my rating: 5
road trip reveals
After being widowed, Frank Fogle reluctantly embarks on a journey to honor his wife's last wish of spreading her ashes in a remote lake in her native Ireland and a promise of taking his estranged son, Sean, along for the trip. As Sean steps out of prison the last thing on his mind is a foreign road trip with his alienated father. What he needs is a fresh start in California. But when his travel plans collapse he reluctantly accepts his father's proposal in return for a ticket to the West Coast and a promise that they never have to see each other again. Between a disconcerting Irish wake, the surfacing of an old flame, the pick up of a pretty hitchhiker and plenty of unresolved issues, the journey becomes a little more than father and son had bargained for.

~*~
* header image: irish vintage card
* found these authors amongst The Irish Times The debut authors to look out for in 2022 article (here)

Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff

Last Ones Left Alive
by Sarah Davis-Goff

Published: 2019
Publisher: Tinder Press
Genre: Dystopia, Zombies, Ireland
Hardback: 280
Rating: 5
Goodreads

First sentence(s):
My toenail has blackened, and I have to pull to get it off.

Watch your six. Beware tall buildings. Always have your knives.

Growing up on a tiny island off the coast of a post-apocalyptic Ireland, Orpen's life has revolved around physical training and necessity. After Mam died, it's the only way she and her guardian Maeve have survived the ravenous skrake (zombies) who roam the wilds of the ravaged countryside, looking for prey.

When Maeve is bitten and infected, Orpen knows what she should do - sink a knife into her eye socket, and quickly. Instead, she tries to save Maeve, and following rumours of a distant city on the mainland, guarded by fierce banshees, she sets off, pushing Maeve in a wheelbarrow and accompanied by their little dog, Danger. It is a journey on which Orpen will need to fight repeatedly for her life, drawing on all of her training and instincts. In the course of it, she will learn more about the Emergency that destroyed her homeland, and the mythical Phoenix City - and discover a starting truth about her own identity.

My two-bits:
I liked how this tackles a post-apocalyptic world from the viewpoint to a character born into it. Along with zombies, the characters must grapple with emotional and personal issues.

Got me thinking of loneliness and survival.

~*~
* monthly theme: True Crime, Hunger, Horror, Harassment

Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd

Mr. Flood's Last Resort
by Jess Kidd

Published: 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Mystery, Magical Realism, Ireland
Hardback: 252
Rating: 5
Goodreads
Website

First sentence(s):
He has a curious way of moving through his rubbish.

Maud Drennan is a dedicated caregiver whose sunny disposition masks a deep sadness. A tragic childhood event left her haunted, in the company of a cast of prattling saints who pop in and out of her life like tourists. Other than visiting her agoraphobic neighbor, Maud keeps to herself, finding solace in her work and in her humble existence–until she meets Mr. Flood.

Cathal Flood is a menace by all accounts. The lone occupant of a Gothic mansion crawling with feral cats, he has been waging war against his son’s attempts to put him into an old-age home and sent his last caretaker running for the madhouse. But Maud is this impossible man’s last chance: if she can help him get the house in order, he just might be able to stay. So the unlikely pair begins to cooperate, bonding over their shared love of Irish folktales and mutual dislike of Mr. Flood’s overbearing son.

Still, shadows are growing in the cluttered corners of the mansion, hinting at buried family secrets, and reminding Maud that she doesn’t really know this man at all. When the forgotten case of a missing schoolgirl comes to light, she starts poking around, and a full-steam search for answers begins.

My two-bits:
Loved the paranormal (ghosts) and mystery mix.

The characters were quirky, colorful and fun to follow through this story.

PeekAbook: Loved the illustrations at the chapter headings

~*~
* part of ibc book club (here)

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Lying in Wait
by Liz Nugent

Find out more about this book and author:
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Published: 2018
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Ireland, Dublin
Hardback: 320
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.

On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons has the perfect life—wife of a respected, successful judge, mother to a beloved son, mistress of a beautiful house in Dublin. That beautiful house, however, holds a secret. And when Lydia’s son, Laurence, discovers its secret, wheels are set in motion that lead to an increasingly claustrophobic and devastatingly dark climax.

My two-bits:

Creepy dark vibe with this one with unlikable characters all-around. And yet, it draws you in for the end that leaves you with a "whoa" moment.

~*~
* part of ibc book club (here)

Happy St. Patrick's Day with Sarah Davis-Goff and Anne Griffin

CELEBRATE today with Irish authors!

Last Ones Left Alive
by Sarah Davis-Goff
-Dystopia, Ireland | Goodreads
Release date: August 27, 2019
Remember your just-in-cases. Beware tall buildings. Always have your knives.

Raised in isolation by her mother and Maeve on a small island off the coast of a post-apocalyptic Ireland, Orpen’s life has revolved around training to fight a threat she’s never seen. More and more she feels the call of the mainland, and the prospect of finding other survivors.

But that is where danger lies, too, in the form of the flesh-eating menace known as the skrake.

Then disaster strikes. Alone, pushing an unconscious Maeve in a wheelbarrow, Orpen decides her last hope is abandoning the safety of the island and journeying across the country to reach the legendary banshees, the rumored all-female fighting force that battles the skrake.

But the skrake are not the only threat…

Sarah Davis-Goff's Last Ones Left Alive is a brilliantly original imagining of a young woman's journey to discover her true identity.

~*~

When All Is Said
by Anne Griffin
-Literary, Ireland | Goodreads
Release date: March 5, 2019

If you had to pick five people to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said?

At the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town sits 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. He’s alone, as usual ­- though tonight is anything but. Pull up a stool and charge your glass, because Maurice is finally ready to tell his story.

Over the course of this evening, he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him. Through these stories - of unspoken joy and regret, a secret tragedy kept hidden, a fierce love that never found its voice - the life of one man will be powerful and poignantly laid bare.

Beautifully heart-warming and powerfully felt, the voice of Maurice Hannigan will stay with you long after all is said and done.

~*~
* found these authors amongst The Irish Times The debut books and authors to look out for in 2019 article (here)

Milkman by Anna Burns

Milkman
by Anna Burns
narrated by Bríd Brennan

Find out more about this book and author:
Goodreads
BookExcerpt

Published: 2018
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Genre: Literary, Coming of Age, Ireland
Paperback: 360
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
The day Somebody McSomebody put a gun to my breast and called me a cat and threaded to shoot me was the same day the milkman died.

In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister, our protagonist, is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about her encounter with Milkman. But when first brother-in-law sniffs out her struggle, and rumours start to swell, middle sister becomes 'interesting'. The last thing she ever wanted to be. To be interesting is to be noticed and to be noticed is dangerous.

Milkman is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is the story of inaction with enormous consequences.

My two-bits:

I liked how this went into unexpected directions. Lots of mini stories embedded to create the scene and its people.

~*~
* Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2018

* Listened to audiobook version.

* part of the Tournament of Books 2019 (here)

Happy St. Patrick's Day with S.A. Dunphy and Kit de Waal

CELEBRATE today with Irish authors!

When She Was Gone
by S.A. Dunphy
-Crime, Thriller
Release date: March 1, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
When criminologist David Dunnigan receives the shocking delivery of one of his niece Beth's shoes, it reignites the eighteen-year-old investigation into her disappearance - which Dunnigan has always blamed himself for. But is he ready for what he might find?

New evidence links Beth's abduction to an antiquated psychiatric hospital, and on to an Inuit village in the frozen north of Greenland where the parents of Harry, a homeless boy Dunnigan and his friend Miley rescued from the streets, may have been trafficked.

Can Dunnigan survive the hunt, and will he find Beth after all this time?

~*~

The Trick To Time
by Kit de Waal
-Historical
Release date: March 29, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
Mona is a dollmaker. She crafts beautiful, handmade wooden dolls in her workshop in a sleepy seaside town. Every doll is special. Every doll has a name. And every doll has a hidden meaning, from a past Mona has never accepted.

Each new doll takes Mona back to a different time entirely - back to Birmingham, in 1972. Back to the thrill of being a young Irish girl in a big city, with a new job and a room of her own in a busy boarding house. Back to her first night out in town, where she meets William, a gentle Irish boy with an easy smile and an open face. Back to their whirlwind marriage, and unexpected pregnancy. And finally, to the tragedy that tore them apart.


~*~
* found these authors amongst The Irish Times Books to Look Out for in 2018 article (here)

A History of Loneliness by John Boyne

A History of Loneliness
by John Boyne

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Instagram
Twitter

Published: 2016
Reprint: Picador
Genre: Literary, Ireland
Paperback: 352
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
I did not become ashamed of being Irish until I was well into the middle years of my life.

The riveting narrative of an honorable Irish priest who finds the church collapsing around him at a pivotal moment in its history

Propelled into the priesthood by a family tragedy, Odran Yates is full of hope and ambition. When he arrives at Clonliffe Seminary in the 1970s, it is a time in Ireland when priests are highly respected, and Odran believes that he is pledging his life to "the good."

Forty years later, Odran's devotion is caught in revelations that shatter the Irish people's faith in the Catholic Church. He sees his friends stand trial, colleagues jailed, the lives of young parishioners destroyed, and grows nervous of venturing out in public for fear of disapproving stares and insults. At one point, he is even arrested when he takes the hand of a young boy and leads him out of a department store looking for the boy's mother.

But when a family event opens wounds from his past, he is forced to confront the demons that have raged within the church, and to recognize his own complicity in their propagation, within both the institution and his own family.

A novel as intimate as it is universal, A History of Loneliness is about the stories we tell ourselves to make peace with our lives. It confirms Boyne as one of the most searching storytellers of his generation.

My two-bits:

I was pleasantly surprised with this book as it is one I would not normally pick out on my own.

Loved this author's style of writing.

Also loved the gentle, naive protagonist in this story and how the story unfolds.

The views and comment of priests in the Catholic church in Ireland of the past and present were interesting to learn about. Aspects of the relationship between priests and its congregation especially in regards to the recent reveal of widespread sexual abuse is covered.

~*~
* part of Diesel Book Club, Larkspur (here)

Happy St. Patrick's Day with Sally Rooney and Karl Geary

CELEBRATE today with Irish authors!

These two are from Dublin.

Conversations with Friends: A Novel
by Sally Rooney
-Literary
Release date: July 11, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
A sharply intelligent novel about two college students and the strange, unexpected connection they forge with a married couple.

Frances is twenty-one years old, cool-headed, and darkly observant. A college student and aspiring writer, she devotes herself to a life of the mind--and to the beautiful and endlessly self-possessed Bobbi, her best friend and comrade-in-arms. Lovers at school, the two young women now perform spoken-word poetry together in Dublin, where a journalist named Melissa spots their potential. Drawn into Melissa's orbit, Frances is reluctantly impressed by the older woman's sophisticated home and tall, handsome husband. Private property, Frances believes, is a cultural evil--and Nick, a bored actor who never quite lived up to his potential, looks like patriarchy made flesh. But however amusing their flirtation seems at first, it gives way to a strange intimacy neither of them expect.As Frances tries to keep her life in check, her relationships increasingly resist her control: with Nick, with her difficult and unhappy father, and finally even with Bobbi. Desperate to reconcile herself to the desires and vulnerabilities of her body, Frances's intellectual certainties begin to yield to something new: a painful and disorienting way of living from moment to moment.

Written with gem-like precision and probing intelligence, Conversations With Friends is wonderfully alive to the pleasures and dangers of youth."

~*~

Montpelier Parade
by Karl Geary
Just published: January 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
The house is on Montpelier Parade: just across town, but it might as well be a different world. Working on the garden with his father one Saturday, Sonny is full of curiosity. Then the back door eases open and she comes down the path toward him. Vera.

Chance meetings become shy arrangements, and soon Sonny is in love for the first time. Casting off his lonely life of dreams and quiet violence for this new, intoxicating encounter, he longs to know Vera, even to save her. But what is that Vera isn’t telling him?

Unfolding in the sea-bright, rain-soaked Dublin of early spring, Montpelier Parade is a beautiful, cinematic novel about desire, longing, grief, hope and the things that remain unspoken. It is about how deeply we can connect with one another, and the choices we must also make alone.


~*~
* found these authors amongst a The Guardian's list of new faces in fiction 2017 (here)