Irish Fiction Reading Group: Contemporary and Classic

Fáilte romhat! Our next reading group will be Irish Fiction: Contemporary and Classic Novels. We’ll be immersing ourselves in a range of Irish novels, expanding the breadth of reading to encompass contemporary and classic Irish fiction.

To start off, we’ll be looking at the three books listed below, all published in the past fifteen years, and considering how each novel fits with - or doesn’t fit with - our preconceptions of Irish writing.

21st January: The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan

25th February: A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

18th March: Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy

There’s no need to prepare - just bring your lovely self - but if you feel like it please feel free to mention a passage or character you particularly enjoyed from the novel over the course of the evening.

For our second meeting, we will be reading A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride.

Eimear McBride’s award-winning debut novel tells the story of a young woman’s relationship with her brother, and the long shadow cast by his childhood brain tumour. It is a shocking and intimate insight into the thoughts, feelings and chaotic sexuality of a vulnerable and isolated protagonist. To read A Girl is a Half-formed Thing is to plunge inside its narrator’s head, experiencing her world at first hand. This isn’t always comfortable - but it is always a revelation.

Each entry place costs £5, fully redeemable as a voucher towards a copy of the book. We hope you’ll join us for some great conversation, and a glass of wine or Barry’s tea on us!