Modern Day Irish Authors (1 Viewer)

[Audiodelic]

No, no. It was just myself and himself. I think I might have caught the tale-end of the Rattlebag interview while heading to town in a taxi. Any good?

I missed it, so I should chase it up online. The Banville one was good, Kazuo Ishiguro was great too (very nice chap). I do briefs for them for the public interviews so the next one up is John Irving in August.

 

[hermie]

which one?'The Master' is excellent.he gets my vote

I'm reading a book by Colm Toibin at the moment - its quite good

 

[Monkey]

which one?'The Master' is excellent.he gets my vote

I Just finished The South his first one.

 

[david]

Sean O'Reilly is really good esp. 'The Swing of Things'
Keith Ridgeway's short story collection 'Standard Time' has some great stuff in it.
Just finished the new S. Barry one,really good. I liked 'Annie Dunne' a lot too.
The Eoin McNamee trilogy mentioned above is great with 'The Ultras' being the best IMO, even though it got a slagging in the Irish Times.
Brian Moore is really good (although he died recently, so maybe he doesn't quite qualify).
As for William Trevor, 'The Children of Dynmouth' is a cracking read and his short stories are stunning.
Can't go wrong with Banville or McGahern.

 

[Super Dexta]

off the top of my head:

Mary Morrissy
John Banville
Deirdre Madden
Brian Friel
Orla Murphy (ahem)

Jarlath Gregory's new novel has been getting great reviews, but I just read it and it's woeful. Like Trainspotting but with middle-class sex-mad teenage gay lads instead of junkies. zzzzzzz.

 

[krystal]

I have liked the couple of edna o'brien books I've read.

what about mary leland? anyone read anything by her?

 

[carcass]

The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle is brilliant, says I

A Star Called Henry is amazing as well. One of my favorite books.

 

[Audiodelic]

I have liked the couple of edna o'brien books I've read.

what about mary leland? anyone read anything by her?

Yeah, I'm with you on Edna O'Brien. I read the Country Girls trilogy years ago and Girl With Green Eyes, she has a very poetic style.

Just read that new (and very mixed bag) Faber Best New Irish Short Stories and there's a really good one by O'Brien.

All I've read of Mary Leland is one short story that was in last year's collection of Irish Women's Short Stories, Cutting the Night in Two.
Has Leland written some novels?

Not many people have mentioned Irish women writers, but I suppose so many of them these days are writing chick lit shite.
Jennifer Johnston is worth reading, as is Christine Dwyer Hickey's 'Tatty' from last year. I also liked MJ Hyland's 'How The Light Gets In'. She also has a story in the Cutting the Night in Two anthology.

 

[hugh]

I second the Sean O'Reilly ... Swing Of Things is really good.

Also Ronan Bennett. Havok In Its Third Year and Catastrophist. Neither are set in, or in any way about, Ireland. But ... he is Irish.

 

[Audiodelic]

I second the Sean O'Reilly ... Swing Of Things is really good.

I recently read O'Reilly's new book, Watermark, about a woman who is quite sexually messed up. I really liked the language and the way it was written but I found her view of sex and sexuality was just male fantasy transposed on to a female character and not believable at all.

What's the Swing of Things about?

 

[hugh]

I recently read O'Reilly's new book, Watermark, about a woman who is quite sexually messed up. I really liked the language and the way it was written but I found her view of sex and sexuality was just male fantasy transposed on to a female character and not believable at all.

What's the Swing of Things about?

Havent read Watermark.

Swing of Things is about 2 characters arsing around Dublin, one an ex-Provo from Belfast who's now going to college in Trinners and the other some sort of street poet/crusty type. Both trying to get by somehow, both finding it hard to get to grips with what's going on in Dublin.