Wild Quiet
Wild Quiet
by Roisín O'Donnell
In this astonishingly innovative and bold collection, Roisín O’Donnell examines the hurts and triumphs of being human, and the wild, quiet moments that approach something like grace.
C-Format Paperback | 192pp | ISBN 9781848405004 | Release Date May 2016
A memory-eating, closet-dwelling beast escapes its confines; a Somali girl in a Donegal school is tougher than she seems; under a jasmine tree in Andalucía a woman waits for her stolen son; at the edge of a city, two brothers step unwittingly into a game that turns deadly. The scope and diversity of these stories knows no bounds, sitting somewhere between the real and imaginary. Wild Quiet contains a world viewed from unexpected angles, where the ordinary is rendered extraordinary and the extraordinary sublime. These are stories woven with compassion and humour, announcing the arrival of a fresh new voice in Irish literature. In this astonishingly innovative and bold collection, Roisín O’Donnell examines the hurts and triumphs of being human, and the wild, quiet moments that approach something like grace.
About the Author Roisín O’Donnell was born in Sheffield with family roots in Derry. Her stories have been anthologised in The Long Gaze Back, Fugue, Young Irelanders, and Unthology. She has been shortlisted for several international prizes, such as the Cúirt New Writing Prize, the Pushcart Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Brighton Prize. In 2015 she received an Arts Council bursary. She lives in Dublin.
Reviews
“ A beautiful collection from an interesting new author who handles space and time - those two bugbears of the short story writer - with uncanny ease, fluidity and absolute grace.”
“O’Donnell’s collection undeniably adds to the relatively small number of texts attempting to push beyond the historical whiteness of Irish literature. The collection also challenges us to consider what exactly we mean by ‘Irish’; by ‘foreign’; by ‘other.”
“These refreshingly different stories concentrate mainly on outsiders in society, and those feeling dislocation. Using elements of magical realism, they radiate charm.”
“From the current powerhouse of Irish fiction New Island Books comes the arrestingly brilliant Wild Quiet written by the supremely talented Roisin O’Donnell who blows up the competition with her debut anthology; where every story is wonderfully crafted and delicately executed making ‘Wild Quiet’ a ride you’ll never want to forget.”
“When you read Wild Quiet… you will place a few hours of your life in the splendid company of a master storyteller.”
“This diverse, highly enjoyable collection comes from one of Ireland’s strongest new voices.’ - Books Ireland ‘A heartfelt and surprising collection.”
