Welcome to Litsy!

Nealon has returned to an empty house in western Ireland after a prolonged absence when he receives the first of a series of strange phone calls. Slowly it becomes clear who Nealon is and why he has been away, but this atmospheric and mysterious novel is more interested in raising questions than answering them. Brief and somewhat surreal, this would make a cool indie film starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

I loved Nolan‘s debut, Acts of Desperation, so I was primed to enjoy this one. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. I found the journalist plot device off putting and awkward.

A kid may have killed another kid. As the family awaits word on the police investigation, a journalist tries to get the scoop while sequestering them in a hotel, but instead he finds out more about the family‘s dysfunctional dynamic.

This was not a book for me. I in general do not love books on motherhood (not being a mom myself). But I know some women who have had similar painful first years with their children and useless husbands. As always I want to know where her community is? She has no friends or family to help? This is such a terrible reality for so many women, it was painful to read here.
#womensprizeforfiction #shoetlist
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Setting up my exercise bike to ride towards my TBR corner.
Motivation or Foreboding?

#poetrymatters #underground

Short stories are not really my thing, always leaves me wanting more when they just end! Maybe never more so than with this book, where some of the stories had me totally gripped! Excited to read Wild Houses now as I think Colin Barrett might just be a bit special.

Jeez, what a sad roll call this book is. Not sure what I was expecting really. It‘s grim and sad and full of mistakes people make in life. And poverty and hopelessness.
Small glimmer of a light at the end.

I loved this, but I didn't enjoy it!!! Oxymoron!? Yes, but hear me out - Keegan's writing is amazing, it brings back the very smell of my granny's kitchen! However, most of these short stories were super unsettling and uncomfortable to read ... So I loved it, but I didn't like it 🤷

An exaggerated portrait of the dark side of new motherhood. It had an archetypal feel to it that didn‘t always resonate with me - a soft pick.

Intergenerational loneliness and shame. The surface telling, and the deeper history. Guilt. Truth. Family. Denial. Migrant challenges. Tabloid journalism. Processing trauma. Beautiful sentences. When sensationalized stories become ordinary, but no less painful. 2024

P43 “the only surefire way to reduce a problem‘s importance was to replace it with a new and more urgent problem.”

P113 “Do you know how rare it is to start over?”