Recent Irish Fiction – a selection

There has been some notable Contemporary Irish fiction published recently which have been receiving a lot of publicity – and rightly so! From 1970’s Killybegs to 21st century Dublin here are some recommendations which have caught my eye recently.

The Boy from the Sea by Garret Carr is the author’s first adult novel. Set in 1973  a baby in a barrel is found washed up on the beach of Killybegs. The fisherman, Ambrose who finds the baby, adopts him and names him Brendan. Life is never the same again for him and his family and as the young boy grows up he is seen as the ‘chosen one’ and seems wise beyond his years predicting where the fishermen should fish and bestowing mysterious blessings on those around him.  It’s a tender book, about the power of community with the necessary element of hope needed for survival. The town of Killybegs features almost as a character itself adding an extra dimension to the story with occasional weather forecasts and newspaper reports reinforcing the sense of place and identity. A gentle story reflecting the gentle nature of the way of life in rural Donegal.

Likewise Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ni Mhaoleoin features a saintly young boy. Brought up in an ultra- religious family in Dublin Daniel has always been too good to be true, compassionate, loving, the perfect son who longs to become a priest so that he can devote his life properly to God. In his 20’s as a young priest he loses his life in a tragic accident and years later, when his loss has all but destroyed the family, there are moves to begin the process towards his canonisation – much to the despair of his younger sister, Jay, who has moved to London. As a queer woman she knows that her own life will not stand up to the scrutiny of the Catholic establishment. She is reluctantly forced to face up to the family she had turned her back on and finally confronts her childhood and own identity within the family.
This novel is inciteful, heartfelt and genuine in a way few other books achieve and I would highly recommend it

My final recommendation is a difficult book to read. Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell features coercive control, emotional abuse within a marriage and the reality of homelessness. Based in Dublin, Ciara is a mother to two young girls and wife to Ryan. Ciara is desperately trying to keep things together until she can gather enough courage to leave Ryan who we quickly learn is controlling and manipulative. Her situation is awful, made worse by the gaslighting and mental anguish he subjects her to but finally she has had enough and makes a break for it . Highlighting the dreadful state of Dublin’s homeless problem we follow Ciara into the ‘system’ that deals with her issues by putting her into a hotel room where she finds out she is pregnant with her third child. She finds unexpected hope and camaraderie in the hotel corridors amongst others with similar struggles as they attempt to find their feet again in a society that doesn’t seem to care.

The story is unfortunately not unusual and the book is hard to read because of the subject matter – once started though I was compelled to continue, rooting for Ciara and the children right to the dramatic ending. It is well written with a lightness to the prose that keeps the novel from being too heavy.

Irish fiction is going from strength to strength these days and choosing three to mention has been difficult!  Let me know if there are others that stand out which you would recommend.
 
The Boy from the Sea by Garrett
Ordinary saints by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin
Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell