The Dream of the Celt By Mario Vargas Llosa, translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010 “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.” Each of his books is a portrait of one or more individuals who set their course against the … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Book Reviews
Review of Books
February / March 2014
Exchange Place by Ciaran Carson Ciaran Carson is a writer preoccupied with memory and perception. The author of five other prose collections and ten books of poetry, Exchange Place is Carson’s most recent meditation on these subjects, told through the conceit of a mystery surrounding the decade-old disappearance of a Belfast painter named, depending on who is … [Read more...] about Review of Books
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Songs and Sonnets Paul Muldoon has eleven previous volumes of poetry and has won many prizes, including the Pulitzer and the T.S. Eliot. This year, he released two books of song lyrics, and though they may not win awards, that’s not the point. At a brisk 48 pages, Songs and Sonnets is more ear candy than brain candy. But amid the poems’ entertainment (and some truly … [Read more...] about Review of Books
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Dark Lies the Island In Dark Lies the Island, Kevin Barry returns to the form that marked his literary debut (American readers who enjoyed his novel, City of Bohane, take note – his first short story collection, There Are Little Kingdoms, is also being released in the U.S. by Graywolf). Barry, born and raised in Limerick, has a singular voice and imagination. He is the rare … [Read more...] about Review of Books
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Stand-out books by Irish-American authors that cover a range of health-related issues. A Drinking Life Pete Hamill's autobiographical A Drinking Life is an important portrayal of the real life of an addict. He is unapologetic in this memoir taking readers from his childhood on to his drinking years and to his ultimate decision to put drink down forever. A talented … [Read more...] about Review of Books