Today is St. Patrick’s Day and the perfect time to talk a wee bit about Irish authors. We know you know about the heavy hitters like James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, and you couldn’t miss the Irish-influence at this year’s Oscars: Emma Donoghue’s Room and Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn both inspired Best Picture nominees. But how about Kevin Barry? If this Irish lit phenom’s books aren’t yet topping your reading list, there’s little doubt they soon will be. Celebrated for their dazzling language and endless originality, his novels and story collections have already won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Goldsmiths Prize, and the International Dublin Literary Award with author Irvine Welsh calling Barry’s debut The City of Bohane “the best novel to come out of Ireland since Ulysses.” So as you celebrate all things Irish today, don’t forget to check out a book by Kevin Barry. You can read more about them below, and don’t miss the great clip of Barry reading “Apparitions” – his witty tale about the ghosts of Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, and William Butler Yeats haunting the streets of modern Dublin. Enjoy!
Shortlisted for the 2012 Irish Novel of the Year and a NY Times Notable Book, Barry’s incredible debut novel follows the dapper crime boss Long Fella as he braces for a showdown with his old rival, the Gant. Bursting with energy and daring, poetic language, Barry crosses ancient Irish mythology with futuristic gangster noir for a book that’s part Ulysses, part Mad Max, and all unforgettable.
Described as a cross between Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Ciaran Carson’s Shamrock Tea, Barry’s surreal second novel imagines John Lennon’s 1978 return to a remote Irish island for a bit of scream therapy. An intoxicating blend of fantasy and reality.
A Library Journal pick for Best Indie Fiction of 2013, Barry’s wickedly funny story collection is filled with tales of misspent love and crimes gone horribly wrong. Described by the NY Times as “full of marvels,” don’t miss the award-winning “Beer Trip to Llandudno.”
Now sit back and enjoy…
