Hi everyone
I am looking for the best books from Ireland for the Read the World challenge over at r/bookclub. The book can be any length, and genre but it must be set or partially set in Ireland. Preferably the author should be from Ireland, or at least currently residing in Ireland or has been a resident of Ireland in the past. I'm looking for the "if I could only ever read one book from Ireland which book should it be" type suggestions.
Thanks in Advance
by fixtheblue
41 Comments
For comedy/mystery, A Man with One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell
**Dubliners**. A collection of short stories by James Joyce
I think Small things like these by Claire Keegan is the “if you can only read one”. The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien and Dubliners by Joyce if you prefer more of a classic. A recent one I have read Service by Sarah Gilmartin think will one day be up there as well as capturing the realities of Celtic Tiger Ireland.
And if you are looking for the North of Ireland, Close to Home by Michael Magee.
Go with The Wild Laughter, by Caoilinn Hughes. Or The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray. They’re straightforward and good examples of contemporary Irish literature. If you want something a bit older, try Joyce or Beckett.
The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien. I think it would be fun to discuss in a book club.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne.
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue is an intriguing novel.
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray is good
.
Ireland by Frank Delaney – a novel about storytelling, storytellers, and Irish history.
At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien – a comic novel about a would-be writer, who probably should attend class.
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry – An old woman recalls her life and how it was affected by among other things, civil war.
The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney – debut novel about redemption and the lengths some would go to to get it.
Ulysses by James Joyce – a day in the life of three characters in Dublin, with many references to Homer and just about everything else.
“Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt.
If you’re up for nonfiction: “We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland” by Fintan O’Toole
In 1958 Ireland’s population was roughly half of what it was in 1840. It was an agricultural country without a single agricultural college (such a place wouldn’t fit in the education system dominated by the Catholic Church), and a country young people would flee as soon as they could. Divorce, abortion, birth control, and homosexuality were all illegal
Economically, politically, and socially, Ireland has changed. O’Toole chronicles the history that led to these changes, and his own experiences living through them. I found it a fascinating book.
The books of Tana French.
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe is a phenomenal book about the troubled history of Ireland over the last century.
McCarthy’s Bar and Around Ireland with a Fridge are two great travelogues. Anything by Roddy Doyle is good for getting a sense of Dublin.
Milkman by Anna Burns ( Northern Ireland)
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
I think for it’s contemporary significance, you should read Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
I led a couple of discussions of Milkman and asked everybody to rank the book on a scale of 1-10. Everyone either said 1 or 10. No in between! It was a fantastic discussion.
It won the Man Booker Prize.
Paddy Clark ha ha ha by Roddy Doyle. They sound like my family. Any of Roddy Doyle’s books really. I particularly love A Star called Henry and you get a history lesson too.
Skippy dies, Paul Murray
The Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle (The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van)
The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe
If you haven’t read Maeve Binchy’s books, you should try them. Excellent portraits of people and their inexplicable relationships. She shows what it’s like to be Irish and live in small towns where the Irish spirit and values thrive. There are themes of people attempting to rebel, particularly women. Something claustrophobic yet fascinating about her works.
PS: I love you, If you could see me now- by Cecelia Ahern – Irish Writer
Anything by Marian Keyes
Also here to mention “Small Things Like These” and her other book “Foster” which is almost better.
The Good People by Hannah Kent (set in 19th century Ireland), I think this one wasn’t mentioned here
Rememberings – Sinead O’Connor
If you like mysteries try In the Woods or The Witch Elm by Tana French!
A girl called blue, and the From Under the Hawthorn Tree for a lil young adult famine perspective.
Two contemporary Irish novels I’ve read recently are The Colony by Audrey Magee, as well as City of Bohane by Kevin Barry. Both highly recommended.
The Colony is a quiet, contemplative novel that takes place on a small Irish island in the 1970s, telling the story of a painter and his rural subjects, and examining the complicated relationship between Ireland and England.
City of Bohane is a fever dream crime novel that takes place in a late-21st century fictional city (based on Galway?). It features endearing scumbag characters and an invented argot that reminds me a bit of Clockwork Orange.
I read it in school but always thought it was a beautiful short read – Foster by Claire Keegan
When All Is Said by Anne Griffin is one of my favorite Irish books. It’s about an elderly man looking back on his life.
Foster by Claire Keegan is good 🙂
Something light would be “Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling”. I think it is great depiction of many modern, Irish women. I bet every Irish person knows this Aisling character.
Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sarah Baume. Genuinely brilliant book
The Awakening by Nora Roberts !
Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series. Jane is an Irish author and Maeve is an Irish/English Met detective.
Under the hawthorn tree
Another book which is a true story is Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan, it starts off in the UK but gathers pace in Ireland and she lives and works in Ireland. Everyone in education should read it imho.
Normal People.