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WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES AUDIBLE SHORT STORY AWARD 'A gripping novel and a sharp, entertaining examination of the nature of art and its power to inspire and corrupt' Roddy Doyle Nessa McCormack's marriage is coming back together again after her husband's affair. She is excited to be in charge of a retrospective art exhibit for one of Ireland's most beloved and enigmatic artists, the late sculptor Robert Locke. But the arrival of two outsiders imperils both her personal and professional worlds: a chance encounter with an old friend threatens to expose a betrayal Nessa thought she had long put behind her, and at work, an odd woman comes forward claiming to be the true creator of Robert Locke's most famous work, The Chalk Sculpture. As Nessa finds the past intruding on the present, she must decide whether she can continue to live a lie - or whether she's ready to face the consequences once everything is out in the open. In this gripping debut, Danielle McLaughlin reveals profound truths about love, power, and the secrets that rule us.
'An exquisite collection from an exciting new voice in short fiction' Lady A woman battles bluebottles as she plots an ill-judged encounter with a stranger; a young husband commutes a treacherous route to his job in the city, fearful for the wife and small daughter he has left behind; a mother struggles to understand her nine-year-old son's obsession with dead birds and the apocalypse. In Danielle McLaughlin's stories, the world is both beautiful and alien. Men and women negotiate their surroundings as a tourist might navigate a distant country: watchfully, with a mixture of wonder and apprehension. Here are characters living lives in translation, ever at the mercy of distortions and misunderstandings, striving to make sense both of the spaces they inhabit and of the people they share them with.
There are lots of rules we all need to follow, from the dress code at school, respecting someone's privacy, to turning your light off at bedtime. In six entertaining stories, Mayor Moe and City Council grapple with the task of making rules to keep their city safe, prosperous and fair. Not an easy job, since citizens come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and have different thoughts and beliefs. Readers will find out about the rights and freedoms enjoyed by every citizen in a democracy, and why they matter. With its strong focus on civic-mindedness and social justice issues, this book equips readers with the language and concepts that illustrate what it means to be an engaged citizen in a democracy --- and makes it fun!
Over the last thirty years, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies has grown from a small group of disaffected conservative law students into an organization with extraordinary influence over American law and politics. Although the organization is unknown to the average citizen, this group of intellectuals has managed to monopolize the selection of federal judges, take over the Department of Justice, and control legal policy in the White House. Today the Society claims that 45,000 conservative lawyers and law students are involved in its activities. Four Supreme Court Justices--Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, and Samuel Alito--are current or former members. E...
'The First Sunday in September really is quite an achievement. The stories are vibrant and authentic, brimming with intensity and desire. I enjoyed it immensely.' – Donal Ryan 'Inventive and compelling, this lifts off the page. A visceral sports novel, and yet so tender.' – Danny Denton 'Imagine Raymond Carver meets Donal Ryan and you have Tadhg Coakley's novel. His writing is taut and vivid, his voice compelling and compassionate.' – Mary Morrissy 'The First Sunday in September takes us into the hearts and minds of a medley of characters who sometimes win but often lose, and whose experiences of life ring true.' – Madeleine D'Arcy It's All-Ireland Hurling Final Day. A hungover Clare...
The Garden is dying. Once a little piece of orchid paradise, now in the aftermath of the worst hurricane in Florida's living memory, it is shattered greenhouses, creeping mangroves and dangerously idle men. So when Romeo, an expert breeder of the lucrative ghost orchid, arrives from Honduras, keeper of the Garden, Blanchard, and his Irish right-hand man, Swallow, believe their fortunes are on the up. But Romeo may not be what he seems, and Swallow can't shake the feeling that the newcomer will threaten his privileged position in the Garden's creaking hierarchy. And the ghost orchid is infamously rare, a delicate and endangered species, hidden deep in a sweltering and treacherous cypress swam...
If Mr. Chesterton had been permitted to have his own way this handful of papers would have been sent out under the title of "Gargoyles." Perhaps the publisher foresaw horror upon the faces of really unimaginative readers when once brought face to face with a "monster" title; so it was changed to "Alarms and discursions," as indefinite and capable of possibilities as one could wish. "Fragments of futile journalism or fleeting impressions," Mr. Chesterton calls his essays. "This row of shapeless and ungainly monsters . . . does not consist of separate idols cut out capriciously in lonely valleys or various islands. These monsters are meant for the gargoyles of a definite cathedral. I have to carve the gargoyles, because I can carve nothing else; I leave to others the angels and the arches and the spires." Forty essays, in which excellent common sense and brilliantly phrased wisdom mingle with sheer nonsense.
A memory-eating, closet-dwelling beast escapes its confines; a Somali girl in a Donegal school is tougher than she seems; under a jasmine tree in Andalucía, a woman waits for her stolen son; at the edge of a city, two brothers step unwittingly into a game that turns deadly. The scope and diversity of these stories knows no bounds, sitting somewhere between the real and imaginary. Wild Quiet contains a world viewed from unexpected angles, where the ordinary is rendered extraordinary and the extraordinary sublime. These are stories woven with compassion and humour, announcing the arrival of a fresh new voice in Irish literature. In this astonishingly innovative and bold collection, Roisin O'Donnell examines the hurts and triumphs of being human, and the wild, quiet moments that approach something like grace. Book jacket.
'Compulsive reading . . . rich, strange, beautiful' Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk 'A strange, new and captivating look at a magical realm . . . Lavishly entertaining' Independent 'Enthralling . . . a literary feast' Stylist The world had forgotten Mr Crowe and his mysterious gifts. Until he killed the poet. He lived a secluded life in the fading grandeur of his country estate. His companions were his faithful manservant and his ward, Clara, a silent, bookish girl who has gifts of her own. Now Dr Chastern, the leader of a secret society, arrives at the estate to call Crowe to account and keep his powers in check. But it is Clara's even greater gifts that he comes to covet most. She must learn to use them quickly, if she is to save them all.
A sparkling satire from the Booker Prize-shortlisted, Women's Prize-winning author of How to be both and the critically acclaimed Seasonal quartet 'Playful, humorous, serious, profoundly clever and profoundly affecting' Guardian 'There once was a man who, one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party, went upstairs and locked himself in one of the bedrooms of the house of the people who were giving the dinner party . . .' As time passes by and the consequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards, touching the owners, the guests, the neighbours and the whole country, so Ali Smith draws us into a beautiful, strange place where everyone is so much more than they first appear... ***** 'Adventurous, intoxicating, dazzling. This is a novel with serious ambitions that remains huge fun to read' Literary Review 'Smith can make anything happen, which is why she is one of our most exciting writers today' Daily Telegraph