Category Archives: Ireland

Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry

Posted on September 26, 2023 by mandywight

In Old God’s Time, long listed for the 2023 Booker Prize, Sebastian Barry comes back to contemporary Ireland, having set his two previous novels, Days without End and A Thousand Moons, in 19th century America. The novel is set in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in English, Ireland | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Posted on June 23, 2023 by mandywight

I was moved by Louise Kennedy’s compelling début novel Trespasses, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize 2023. Set on the edge of Belfast in the 1970s, it’s a love story, but also a story of the Troubles: how sectarianism and violence … Continue reading →

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We Don’t Know Ourselves- A Personal History of Ireland since 1958 by Fintan O’Toole.

Posted on December 22, 2022 by mandywight

1958 was the year journalist and writer Fintan O’Toole was born and this book covers the arc of Ireland’s history since that date from the perspective of himself and his family. Less personal than a memoir, it reminds me of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in English, History, Ireland, Memoir | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Posted on December 5, 2022 by mandywight

November’s German Literature Month is done and I’m back to one of my other reading interests: Ireland and Irish identity. I’ve been reading Fintan O’Toole’s We Don’t Know Ourselves, but took a break for some fiction this weekend with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in English, Ireland | Tagged , | 2 Comments