Emerald Isle Authors
August 3, 2022
The literary tradition of Ireland, the Emerald Isle, is a long and distinguished one. That tradition continues to flourish through some of the most compelling English-language authors living today. Earn your Emerald Isle Authors badge by reading a contemporary Irish fiction writer.
Being Various, ed. by Lucy Caldwell
Being Various brings together original stories from Ireland’s current golden age of writing with some exciting new voices, never before published.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
If you’re not already a Sally Rooney fan, you will be after reading this tale of the complex friendship and relationship between two teenagers, Connell and Marianne, who meet in a secondary school in County Sligo, Ireland, and later attend Trinity College Dublin together.
Himself by Jess Kidd
Set in a small town filled with secrets and featuring the return of a mysterious character, Himself is an engrossing mystery, leavened with magic, comedy, eccentric characters, and the power of language.
Love by Roddy Doyle
Drinking and storytelling: two old friends meet again in a Dublin pub. Reminiscing about past loves, their parents, and themselves through a series of stories—sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, always moving—these men show the many ways they’ve loved.
Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
Waiting for a family member in a port in Spain, two aging Irish drug-smugglers look back on their lives of violence and betrayal, telling stories with deft humor and turns of phrase.
Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín
A widow and mother of four, Nora Webster struggles with the loss of the love of her life. Tóibín is a compassionate author, and it shows in this deeply moving story.
Snow by John Banville
Want a suspenseful and beautifully-written murder mystery? This one has it all: a murdered parish priest, an aristocratic family’s country manor house, and a detective inspector summoned to investigate.
Book / eBook / Audio eBook
Solar Bones by Mike McCormack
This stylistically ambitious novel tells the story of the life and death of an engineer in rural Ireland, but also comments on the state of our larger world.
Book / Large Print / eBook / Audio eBook
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
As its title implies, this story spans two continents—and 150 years, as it uses the fictional story of four generations of women to highlight the historical stories of Frederick Douglass, Senator George Mitchell and World War I airmen John Alcock and Teddy Brown.
Book / eBook / CD Audiobook / Audio eBook
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
A miracle has been reported: a girl in a small Irish village has survived for a month without food. But the English nurse who is brought to testify to that miracle instead finds she must fight to save the girl’s life.
Book / eBook / CD Audiobook / Audio eBook