What’s OnIrish literature has always been in dialogue with the ocean. Contemporary writers continue to wrestle with what it means to be an island nation inspired by and at the mercy of the sea. In this lively conversation two brilliant Irish novelists discuss their recent coastal novels. Sheila Armstrong’s critically acclaimed Falling Animals, explores the mysterious appearance of a body on an isolated beach and how it impacts a small seaside community. Told through a chorus of voices, Falling Animals follows the crosshatching threads of lives both true and imagined, real and surreal, past and present. Kerry born writer, Noel O’Regan’s debut novel, Though the Bodies Fall, introduces us to Micheál Burns, a young man who lives alone in his family’s bungalow at the end of Kerry Head. It is a picturesque spot, but the cliffs have a much darker side. Both novels are beautifully crafted and gripping meditations on community, loss and the natural world.
Part of our Ireland in Focus series, curated by Jan Carson, which brings some of Ireland’s most exciting contemporary voices to Paisley.
