Summer Reading- Red Sky in Morning, The Herbalist, The Captain's Table

The heatwave is still here even if it is a bit overcast. Step outside and the air is warm and fuggy and everyone says that we need a bit of rain to clear the air. We love to discuss the weather and a prolonged summer heatwave and a real drought has caused much material for discussion. What the weather doesn't encourage is indoor keyboard tapping. The review rate has dwindled to very low as the appeal of lolling in the garden instead has risen to very high. Despite this we all like to have recommendations of what to read as we lie in the sun so here are my three books for backgarden/ beach/ poolside reading.

 

Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch caused much excitement on publication. And not without cause. It is a thoughtful and subtle piece of work with a moving and tragic close. The tale of Coll Coyle and his treatment at the hand of his landlord's son is one that escalates out of control. A small act leads to a large event and leads to his journey away from his wife and family in Donegal to America, to join those who chipped away at the rocks to lay the railway lines. But Coll can never escape his original act and when we find what this was it makes the tale all the more tragic.

This is Paul Lynch's first novel. A journalist and former film critic for the Sunday Tribune, the novel has a cinematic and reportage feel to it as the reader is taken through Coll's experience. There is no excess language here- it is roughly hewn and gets straight to the core of the story. It is one that lingers in your mind after the reading as you dwell on the escalation of events that occurred and the impact of real events on real people at that time.

Red Sky in Morning is published by Quercus Books http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/

 

The Herbalist by Niamh Boyce has gone straight into the Irish Bestseller Charts after publication in early June. Another first novel this story is one that gives the reader a real feel for small town gossip in 1930s rural Ireland. Opening with the arrival in the town of the herbalist to sell his wares in the market place, his effect on the womenfolk, in particular one young girl Emily, will cause disruption and heartache, suspicion and spite. Accepting an unwanted pregnancy for one is balanced with loss of a child and inability to conceive again for another. The attitudes of a small town towards a woman who lives her life as she wishes rather than following the conventional rules of society make her an outsider. In fact, despite the herbalist being the catalyst for this story it is the women whom we are following and the ways that they make life so awkward for each other.

Niamh Boyce won the 2012 Hennessy XO Award for Irish Writing and her debut here is a confident piece of writing telling an unusual and interesting tale. The characters are strong and believable set in a period of Irish history that was restricting and claustrophobic for women.

The Herbalist is published by Penguin Ireland http://www.penguin.ie/

  

Muriel Bolger's new book The Captain's Table is a great story! I wasn't sure to start with; set on a cruise ship- is this really my cup of tea? But despite my initial reservations I raced through this fun lighthearted story of Jenny who has left her well-known Irish husband who is in the early days of  a scandal to escape for a couple of weeks on a Mediterranean cruise. Gathering together with other solo passengers and a few other's, one being a colourful newly-wed gay couple we are initiated into the daily goings on of a cruise ship. The Captain is a charmer but has a troubled wife at home. He explains the staff manner of bumping hips and knocking elbows to greet passengers to ensure they do not get any germs that would affect the smooth running of the ship. I spent several days sharing this nugget of interesting information with friends!

The passengers all have their own interesting stories and the well rounded characters each quickly emerge to be followed as they quickly make friends and reveal their own reason for taking a cruise, which seems to be shared much more quickly on the decks of the ship with it's feeling that fellow passengers may never be encountered again. The author is a huge fan of cruises and her knowledge and experience comes through in the detail and credibility of the story. Great fun, good reading and a great choice for summer reading.  

The Captain's Table is published by Hachette Ireland https://www.hachette.ie/ 

Tramp Press- a New Irish Publisher

Good news for publishing in Ireland is that a new publishers has ventured into the market calling itself Tramp Press. An independent company, they are actively seeking fiction of all genres and from July to September there is an open call for submissions.



They have a very inspiring 'Stuff We Like' link that takes you to some funky websites that are well worth exploring including book sites, review sites, design and editing.



With several cool black and white images on the site like that above "Good Luck!" wishes must be sent to anyone with a new venture and we hope to be seeing Tramp Press books in Hodges Figgis and other bookshops in the near future.

http://tramp.ie/    Email info@tramp.ie

"What Are You Looking At?" by Will Gompertz

I'm halfway through reading this great book that I picked up when I was away on a short break. Purchased from the most excellent Liber Bookshop in Sligo Town, Will Gompertz's book What Are You Looking At? 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye is a purchase anyone interested in art will not regret.

  
Gompertz's writing style is informative and accessible without mystifying the reader with all the arty-farty bull that often emerges when art is being discussed. Gompertz is the first to admit that the industry is guilty of this fault, with its wealth of highly qualified museum and gallery staff writing exhibition brochures and wall plaques that need to inform the public but at the same time will be seen and judged by the higher echelons of the art world.

It is an art book that sets each major movement starting with the Impressionists in their own place in history and the influences and events that sparked off the changes in approach and thought. Their are colour plates of works from the major artists discussed and black and white prints interspersed throughout to further illustrate Gompertz' text. It is the type of book that makes you want to go away and explore further about specific artists or places that they worked in. These books to me are the best, those that spring board onto other books or websites or even to visiting the gallery where a particular artwork is shown. It encourages further thought and exploration where Gompertz has skirted the surface to give just enough detail to make one feel knowledgeable and to understand the roots of the art movement but not so saturated that there is not  more to discover. His very cleverly designed timeline of the Modern Art movements at the front of the book is laid out like the London underground map- a familiar iconic design that we are used to interpreting but here presenting a sometimes confusing pattern of development in a very clear and manageable way.



The Guardian is quoted as saying that "Will Gompertz is the best teacher that you never had" and I will second that statement. This is the type of book that you will return to again and again as the read about influences are recognised in new artworks that are produced and seen by the critical public.

BREADBOY Teenage Kicks and Tatey Bread - What Paperboy Did Next by Tony Macaulay

This is a grand wee book so it is!  It is in his colloquial Belfast voice that Tony tells the story of growing up on the Shankill Road. It is 1977, Elvis is dead and even Big Duff, the hard man of the paramilitary is seen to shed a tear. On his bread round in Leslie's van brings him in contact with all members of the community and as a teenage pacifist Tony tries to take everyone as they come. Culture is on the edge of the punk explosion- we experience the Saturday Night Fever and Grease mania at the Westy disco DJ'd by Tony's dad before disco dies for a new expression.

 
Breadboy is just alive with the culture of the late 70s. It's got the music, the TV programmes, the movies, the changing fashions and even the food (fish fingers and smash). For anyone who grew up in these years  this book is just spot on with its innocence and excitement. You'll nod your head and chuckle at references to the films you watched and the aftershave or perfume you wore (Denim or Charlie!). Despite the backdrop of the 'The Troubles' and its ever present threat to the community, this is merely an aside to Tony's job delivering bread from the Ormo Mini-Shop and his aim of making Judy Carlton fall in love with him.



This is Tony's sequel to his first book Paperboy. Growing up on the Shankill Road he has worked for many years for peace and reconciliation and is a writer, broadcaster and contributor to BBC Radio Ulster. His humour and his voice call off the pages to the reader to laugh and share the story of a teenage boy as he grows up in the shadow of sectarianism but who puts all this aside for the Bee Gees, Star Wars, Wonder Woman Lynda  Carter and Farrah Fawcett Majors.

Breadboy is published by Blackstaff Press www.blackstaffpress.com