Louise O’Neill: ‘I try and constantly cut back on the excess in my writing’
What was the first book to make an impression on you? The first book that I remember making an indelible impression on me was The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I’m a voracious reader so it takes...
View ArticleCaitriona Lally on Eggshells: The Irish Times Book Club podcast
The Irish Times Book Club’s in-depth look at Caitriona Lally’s Eggshells reaches its climax with a podcast in which the author reads a passage from her debut novel and discusses...
View ArticleBrought to Book: John Boyne on Noddy, Homer Wells, ‘Birdsong’ and a Kindle tip
John Boyne’s latest novel is Stay Where You Are And Then Leave. His new novel for adults – his first set in contemporary Ireland – will be published by Doubleday in September, titled A History of...
View ArticleMaria Duffy Q&A: ‘I can get a week’s work done between 1am and 7am’
Maria Duffy is a bestselling Irish author and her latest novel, One Wish (Hachette Ireland) is out now in paperback. mariaduffy.ie What was the first book to make an impression on you? Other than Enid...
View ArticleDublin, what a character
Dublin features in my novel, Eggshells, almost as a character in itself, a sometimes magical but occasionally sinister character. For Vivian, the protagonist, Dublin is the place she hopes will show...
View ArticlePhilip Hensher: ‘Don’t aspire to be an author. Just aspire to write a...
What was the first book to make an impression on you? The Wizard of Oz, and especially the very weird sequel The Marvelous Land of Oz, where the hero undergoes a sex change in the penultimate chapter....
View ArticleAlex Miller: ‘Simple prose is valued more now than a decade ago’
Alex Miller is an Australian author, who won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 1993 for his novel The Ancestor Game. His eleventh novel, Coal Creek, was published in 2013. What was the first book to...
View ArticleEggshells by Caitriona Lally: ‘priceless thoughts on words and the world’
I sometimes show up to my book club without my homework: I’ve decided I only have time for books worth every moment spent on them. From the first page of Eggshells, I knew it was worth its word count...
View ArticleFrankie Gaffney’s advice to writers: ‘give up the booze and break some rules’
What was the first book to make an impression on you? My Ma started reading to me long before I can remember, so I can’t recall a first book. Where the Wild Things Are made an early impression, though....
View ArticleAnthony Glavin on Eggshells by Caitriona Lally: a novel that keeps its promises
I’ll confess it was with fingers crossed that I opened Caitriona Lally’s beguiling debut novel, Eggshells, of which I had previously seen the first 10,000 words as one of three judges for the Irish...
View ArticleReview: Eggshells, by Caitriona Lally: full of action and humour
In his analysis of the works of James Joyce, the novelist, linguist and literary critic Anthony Burgess maintained that there are two types of novels – those focused on the world at large, with plot...
View ArticleMark Billingham Q&A: ‘Cops solving crimes with supernatural powers strikes me...
Mark Billingham’s latest novel is The Bones Beneath, published by Grove Press. A former actor, television writer and stand-up comedian, his series of novels featuring DI Tom Thorne has twice won him...
View ArticleGerard Lee’s motto: ‘Write something, or there’ll be no cake’
What was the first book to make an impression on you? Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson. What was your favourite book as a child? The Boy with the Bronze Axe by Kathleen Fidler, published in 1968. I...
View Article‘I’m glad I didn’t know Eggshells would be published: not knowing was...
Caitriona Lally was a finalist in the 2014 Irish Writers’ Centre Novel Fair. Her first book, Eggshells, was published by Liberties Press in May. She has been shortlisted for Sunday Independent Newcomer...
View ArticleAlison Weir: ‘I loved fairy tales from infancy’
Alison Weir lives and works in Surrey. Her books include several works of non-fiction – Britain’s Royal Families, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Children of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry VIII:...
View ArticleHerman Koch on being caught by Holden Caulfield
What was the first book to make an impression on you? Robinson Crusoe. I wanted to live on an island just like him. I played I did. What was your favourite book as a child? All the books that featured...
View ArticleNeil White: ‘Enid Blyton turned me towards mystery and horror’
What was the first book to make an impression on you? Any one of the Enid Blyton Famous Five books. I remember well the feeling of mild terror as the mystery unfolded, which turned me towards mystery...
View ArticleAgnes Ravatn: ‘Research is synonymous with procrastination, so I try to avoid...
What was the first book to make an impression on you? Boy by Roald Dahl certainly made an impression. I read it as a child and actually literally fainted and woke up on the floor after reading the...
View Article‘A lot of Eggshells is from conversations I overheard. People just have no...
Meeting debut author Caitriona Lally in the Book Upstairs Café on D’Olier Street, I was extremely relieved to discover that, unlike her novel’s main character, her hair wasn’t brittle and her hygiene...
View ArticleCaitriona Lally on writing Eggshells: from the dole to a debut novel
In the summer of 2014, I got word that Liberties Press was interested in publishing my first novel, Eggshells. Three years previously, I had kept notebooks to record conversations I’d overheard on...
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