Rob Doyle: ‘It would be nice to shock people, but I think that’s long gone’
The opening story in This Is the Ritual, the second book by the Dublin-born writer Rob Doyle, is a comic slaying of a herd of sacred cows. The narrator, also named Rob, finds himself on the ferry from...
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 ArticleMichael Grothaus Q&A: ‘Don’t worry about the first draft. It’s always going...
What was the first book to make an impression on you? The very first book to make an impression on me was the novel Shibumi by Trevanian. It’s a philosophical exploration about democracy, consumerism,...
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 ArticleTore Renberg: ‘We will prevail. We will write. People will read. Literature...
Tore Renberg, from Stavanger, Norway, made his literary debut in 1995 with the short-story collection Sleeping Tangle, for which he won the Tarjei Vesaas Debutant Prize. Since then he has written...
View ArticleGavin McCrea: ‘when I finished John McGahern’s Memoir, I wept for an entire day’
What was the first book to make an impression on you? The one that I watched my mother read in her chair in the corner of the kitchen. What was your favourite book as a child? Roald Dahl’s Matilda....
View ArticleMelissa Hill Q&A: ‘The Secret Garden inspired my love of the mystery genre to...
Melissa Hill is the author of 13 novels, including Something from Tiffany’s, The Charm Bracelet and many more. A Gift to Remember was published by Simon & Schuster last year and her new novel, The...
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 ArticleChristine Dwyer Hickey Q&A: my influences, from Mrs Dalloway to Janice Galloway
What was the first book to make an impression on you? Probably the Irish Racing Form Book as my father always had his nose in it and I kept nagging him to read it to me which he eventually did – what a...
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 ArticleGraeme Macrae Burnet Q&A: ‘Like most writers I’m a dreadful procrastinator’
Can you tell us about your latest work and how it came about, the story behind the story? His Bloody Project tells the story of a triple murder in a remote Highland crofting community in 1869. The...
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 ArticleRagnar Jónasson Q&A: ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd had a great impact on me’
Ragnar Jónasson is the Icelandic author of the Dark Iceland crime series set in the northernmost town in Iceland, Siglufjordur. Snowblind (Orenda Books) is the first book in the Dark Iceland series....
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 ArticleLouise 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 ArticleUCD academic Áine Mahon on Eggshells by Caitriona Lally: ‘a delightful debut’
In Caitriona Lally’s Eggshells we meet Vivian – nine tenths fictional creation and one tenth our own personality. Vivian is independent, creative, brave. She lives alone in Dublin in what was once her...
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 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 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...
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