Literary Tourism: Ireland Archives

Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir

by Frank McCourt

This alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking tale about McCourt's Irish childhood won the Pulitzer Prize and landed at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. (Mary Karr cited it often as a stunning example in her recent book The Art of Memoir.) He was born in Depression-era Brooklyn to Irish immigrant parents, who returned to the slums in Limerick when he was 4 years old. His mother tried to care for the children despite having no money, as his alcoholic father rarely worked and drank his wages when he did. McCourt's brogue, humor, and gift of gab makes the story of poverty and near-starvation leap off the page.

Long Island

by Colm Tóibín

In this wistful literary standalone set in the 1970s and 2024 Summer Reading Guide selection, Tóibín returns to his beloved character Eilis Lacey from his 2009 novel Brooklyn. Now in her forties with two teenage children, Irishwoman Eilis is still married to Tony, and still feels like an outsider amongst—and sometimes a prisoner in—his large Italian family. When a stranger appears at her door with a staggering revelation about her husband’s life and choices, Eilis finds herself at a crossroads in her life and marriage, and escapes from Long Island to her small Irish hometown after a decades-long absence to contemplate her future. The neighborhood dynamics are both utterly prosaic and heavy with meaning: this is the kind of book where a bit of gossip whispered by one neighbor to another makes you gasp aloud.

PS, I Love You

by Cecelia Ahern

Ahern’s bestselling debut women’s fiction follows 30-year-old Holly after the death of her husband Gerry. Devastated, her life is at a standstill until she receives a package containing ten letters Gerry wrote before he died. Each message sends her on an adventure with the help of her friends and family, as she figures out how to live without him. The movie adaptation stars Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

by Patrick Radden Keefe

Investigative journalism at its finest, this examines the IRA’s abduction of Jean McConville, a mother of ten, from her Belfast home in 1972 during The Troubles. Her family never saw her again. A little more than thirty years later, human bones are found on a beach and later identified as McConville. The case serves as an example of the violence, fear, and paranoia during that time, as well as a jumping off point to explore the IRA’s goal for a united Ireland, the repercussions of guerrilla warfare, and whether their ends ever justified the means. A riveting and heartbreaking read, this was recently adapted into a TV miniseries on FX.

This Must Be the Place

by Maggie O'Farrell

This is one of my favorite rereads. Family stories are commonplace in fiction, but I love this one for its intricate plotting, nuanced characters, true-to-life feel, and ultimate hopefulness. This is the story of an unlikely but successful marriage between a floundering American professor and a British film star who hated the limelight so much she faked her own death and disappeared ... until an unexpected bit of news, twenty years old but newly discovered, threatens to unravel everything they've built together.

The Henna Wars

by Adiba Jaigirdar

An engaging sapphic YA novel about Nishat and Flávia, immigrant teen girls living in Dublin. After Flávia transfers to Nishat’s all-girls Catholic high school, they become rivals when they both start henna businesses. They both secretly have crushes on the other but neither is out, making it difficult to tell whether a spark is there. Nishat’s parents don’t handle her coming out as lesbian all that well, worried about what their Bengali relatives will think and believing you can't be Muslim and queer. Luckily, her sister Priti is on her side, helping her make sense of it all. This sweet love story delves into racism, homophobia, and the power of claiming one’s identity.

Normal People: A Novel

by Sally Rooney

I didn't think Sally Rooney was for me. But because I recorded a What Should I Read Next episode with a guest who called Rooney her favorite author, I sampled this one—and then I didn't want to stop reading! I was captivated by Rooney's skill at portraying the quietly devastating interactions between Connell and Marianne, Irish teenagers who begin an on-again, off-again relationship (though they wouldn't call it that) in high school and whose paths continue to cross when they move on to university in Dublin. Her unusual style suits the story, and the acuity with which she probes friendship, trauma, and mental health is striking.

Circle of Friends

by Maeve Binchy

This historical fiction was my gateway to the beloved Irish author’s work. Childhood friends Benny and Eve grow up in tiny Knockglen, determined to head to Dublin one day. Upon arrival at University College, Dublin, they become inseparable with fellow students Nan and Jack. The freedom college offers has both benefits and costs, leaving none of them the same. Take note: the movie adaptation starring Chris O'Donnell and Minnie Driver changed the ending. Content warnings apply.

The Guest List

by Lucy Foley

This 2020 mystery puts a modern spin on Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, setting a destination wedding on a remote Irish island, accessible only by boat, with guests whose lives are connected in ways they never could have guessed. When a magazine publisher weds a handsome reality tv star, she wants her wedding to be magazine-worthy: the designer gown, the atmospheric location, everything perfect to the last detail. But when the guests arrive, including old colleagues, boarding school friends, unreliable family, and untrustworthy friends—things begin going wrong, as long-buried secrets threaten to burst forth at exactly the wrong time. And then they find the dead body. Told in rotating points of view, this was cleverer than I'd expected. An enjoyable mystery that's excellent on audio. (I would have appreciated a content warning for self-harm; a murder mystery is certain to have triggers but that one took me by surprise.)

Trinity (Trinity and Redemption #1)

by Leon Uris

I wish I could remember what led to the big Leon Uris kick I went on in high school! I loved this book then; I hear it holds up and would be curious to see for myself. This sweeping historical fiction epic examines three generations of a family living in 19th century Ireland. Their day-to-day lives are set against a backdrop of Catholic-Protestant hatred and violence, imperialist British rule, famine, love, and danger.

A Ghost in the Throat

by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

"This is a female text." These beginning words are repeated, over and over, throughout. But what to say about this story, how to define it? Words fail me here, because it's so unlike anything I've ever read: part memoir, part meditation on the female creative process, part biography of a long-dead Irish poet, plus a translation of the poet's best-known work. If you're stirred by the offer of gaining a glimpse inside the mind of a modern poet grappling with her brilliant predecessors, read this immediately. This went straight on my Best of the Year list. I listened to the exceptional audio version, narrated by Siobhán McSweeney.

Chirp

Lark Ascending

by Silas House

This dystopian novel with echoes of The Dog Stars and The Road is set in the not-too-distant future, where fires have ravaged the globe and religious extremists have seized control of governments. Lark, a teenage refugee, fled Maine with his family hoping to find sanctuary in Ireland, the last country rumored to be accepting refugees—only to discover upon arrival that the borders have closed and his perilous journey has only just begun. Dejected, starving, and alone, he sets out for Glendalough, the "thin place" his mother told him about before she died. Along the way he befriends Seamus, a trustworthy beagle who somehow managed to survive even after dogs were eradicated, and encounters others who wish to both help and harm him. This is a departure for House; those who have enjoyed his past work may especially appreciate the wistful prose and LGBTQ love story.

Foster

by Claire Keegan

This tender story is at once heartbreaking and life-affirming, and though it's a short story, it's lush, full, and packed with life. It begins on a hot summer day in rural Ireland, when an anxious child is taken by her father to live with a distant relative for a time, in order to ease the burden on her mother as she prepares to deliver another child. The story is just under a hundred pages but Keegan takes you on quite the journey: I read this with my heart in my throat, and found it to be a true testament to what a gifted writer can do in a small space.

Four Letters of Love: A Novel

by Niall Williams

While this story isn't terribly old, it feels decidedly old-fashioned. The story unspools slowly; the plot is anchored by four life-changing letters written decades apart. First we meet 12-year-old Nicholas Coughlan, whose father soon announces he's received a calling from God to quit his job and become a painter, with tragic and unforeseen consequences. In another part of Ireland, young Isabel Gore is a poet's daughter, whose life is upended when her beloved and talented brother suffers a terrible seizure that make his planned future impossible. We know the two are destined to connect, and Williams methodically (perhaps miraculously?) weaves their paths together. One of my favorite books of 2021 was Shirley Hazzard's The Transit of Venus; the tone of Williams's story reminded me very much of Hazzard's.

The Rachel Incident

by Caroline O'Donoghue

This is the book I can't stop recommending! I picked this up on a whim and am so glad I did: the novel reads like a warmer, wittier Sally Rooney, perfect for fans of introspective first-person literary fiction. When the novel begins, Rachel is living in London, happily married and pregnant, when she hears the news that one of her old long-ago college professors is in a coma. (This beginning reminds me of one of my favorite novels, This Must Be the Place.) This discovery prompts her to recall a pivotal year in her early twenties, when she met her best friend James working at the bookstore and their lives soon became enmeshed with those of the professor and his wife. A provocative novel with an enticing plot that thoughtfully interrogates themes of power, class, art, and the queer experience; I adored the Irish accents in Tara Flynn's excellent narration.

Faithful Place

by Tana French

When he was 19, Frank Mackey planned to run off with his girlfriend Rosie Daly: they would cut ties to home, get married, and start a new life in England. When Rosie didn't show, Frank assumed she changed her mind and left without him. But 22 years later, Rosie's suitcase is found hidden in their planned meeting spot. Frank never got over her, and he'll do whatever it takes to uncover what happened. Frank's qualities make him a first-class detective: he's painfully honest and willing to deal with unpleasant truths. He knows his weak spots, expects the sucker punch. He believes the most important thing every man should know is what he would die for. Depressing, but French tells a great story. This is the third book in her Dublin Murder Squad series, which can be read in any order.

Chirp

The Bee Sting

by Paul Murray

The publisher's descriptions of this Booker-shortlisted book are quite misleading, as they made the book sound considerably warmer than I found it to be. (And "funny," what?) Instead expect a multi-generational family saga about the unrelenting and unending troubles and ultimate demise of the ill-fated Barnes family. I listened to the full cast audiobook narration, and while audio isn’t my best reading format for discerning style and structure, it’s still easy to see that character development, structure, and symbolism are brilliantly done. If you can believe it, the book's 700 pages felt like a page-turner closer to half that long, all the way up to the jaw-dropping ending. This is a book that would well reward a re-read, if you can bear it. Please note countless content warnings.

Literary Tourism: Ireland

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