The Irish novelist and playwright on the positives of ageing, his struggles with depression and a golden age of Irish writingSebastian Barry, 68, is the author of 11 novels and 15 plays. Five of his books have been long- or shortlisted for the Booker prize, and his novels have won numerous awards, including the Costa book of the year (twice) and the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction. He was laureate for Irish fiction from 2018 to 2021. His latest novel, Old God’s Time, is about a retired policeman, Tom Kettle, and his struggles with the legacy of institutional child abuse in Ireland. It has been described as “a tour de force of transcendent power and complexity”. Barry was born in Dublin and lives in a converted rectory in the mountains of County Wicklow, Ireland.Was it good to be back in Ireland with Old God’s Time? Did it feel like coming home?I was in dread of coming home. I had spent two books [Days Without End and A Thousand Moons] in America, quite joyously… a kind of vast holiday. So, yes, it was coming home, but I was a bit… It’s not that I’ve been avoiding the whole strange cosmos of what we have done to children in this country, but I was certainly unable to write this book… until I did. When you get past 60, you do feel a sort of licence finally to write fearlessly about something that essentially is full of fear.Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry is published in paperback by Faber (£9.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-02-10 18:00:48 UTC ]
The last time I wrote a novel set in what I considered to be the present was 2009-2010. The iPhone had appeared in 2007, but it had nothing to do with my characters, who were poor or old or both and lived on the scrappy outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then, my books have […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-04 09:56:57 UTC ]
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Pack your ereader with today's bounty of excellent deals from historical fiction to nonfiction, dystopian reads to romance, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-12-02 14:00:00 UTC ]
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December is finally here, the final month in a year in which time has sometimes felt more like a labyrinth than a line through calendar days, a year of sudden twists and turns. And the year to come will be dense with, if not outright defined by, uncertainty. And that is precisely why the things […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-02 09:55:17 UTC ]
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The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-11-27 14:00:04 UTC ]
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The short novel narrating a day in the life of six astronauts on the International Space Station becomes the first book to top the charts in the week of its winSamantha Harvey’s Booker-winning Orbital has rocketed to the top of the UK bestseller chart, becoming the first Booker novel to hit... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-11-20 15:01:38 UTC ]
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The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-11-20 14:00:57 UTC ]
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25 of the most important cookbooks of the last 100 years, the best historical fiction of 2024, and Martin Scorcese's adaptation plans. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-18 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Death on a doomed ship, historical fiction from the Hundred Years' War, our relationship with the natural world, and more of today's best book deals Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-14 16:56:44 UTC ]
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The Big A weighs in on the best books of the year, new YA titles out this week, historical fiction for Native American Heritage Month, and more today on Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-13 16:02:09 UTC ]
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The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-11-13 14:00:21 UTC ]
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Which historical fiction novel featuring Native Americans are you picking up this month? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-11-06 14:00:38 UTC ]
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Amazon completely revamped its Kindle family in October when it debuted the entirely new Colorsoft ereader along with updated generations of the other three existing models: the standard Kindle, the Paperwhite and the Scribe E Ink tablet. The new Paperwhite has a slightly larger screen, a bigger... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-04 16:30:36 UTC ]
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The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-10-30 13:00:21 UTC ]
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An Arthurian Retelling, Historical Fiction Set in Malaysia, a Queer Magical Romance, and More in Today's Best YA Deals Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-10-29 16:31:00 UTC ]
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I work as the bookstore manager for a bookstore in the Hudson Valley and one of the things that means is that I handle not only the ordering of most of our books, but the unboxing of them as well. I get to put hands (or at least eyes) on basically every book that comes […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-10-24 14:25:11 UTC ]
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Horror for all scaredy-types, recent post-apocalyptic fiction, historical fiction set in Scotland, and much more on Book Riot today. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-10-23 15:30:00 UTC ]
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The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-10-23 13:00:20 UTC ]
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The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-10-16 13:00:11 UTC ]
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“Polostan” sets up a historical fiction series about espionage and revolution in the early 20th century. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-10-15 09:01:27 UTC ]
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