Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Contemporary Scene
'I love James Joyce. Never read him, but he's a true genius.' And while this is certainly
true of Dublin's greatest literary son, most Dubliners feel more or less the same about the
other literary giants of yesteryear. Ask them for their favourite contemporary authors,
though, and you'd kick off a knowledgeable debate peppered with dozens of worthy names.
Contemporary heavyweights include Roddy Doyle (1958-), made famous by the mega-
successful Barrytown quartet (all of which were made into the films); his most recent novel
is
The Dead Republic
(2010), the third book about an IRA hitman called Henry. Sebastian
Barry (1955-) started his career as a poet, made his name as a playwright but achieved his
greatest success as a novelist. Favourites include the award-winning
The Secret Scripture
(2008), about a 100-year-old inmate of a mental hospital who decides to write an autobio-
graphy. More recently,
On Canaan's Side
(2011) was long-listed for Man Booker Prize.
Anne Enright (1962-) nabbed the Booker for
The Gathering
(2007), a Zeitgeist tale of
alcoholism and abuse - she described it as 'the intellectual equivalent of a Hollywood
weepie'. Another Booker Prize winner is heavyweight John Banville (1945-), who won it
for
The Sea
(2009); we recommend either
The Book of Evidence
(1989) or the masterful
roman-á-clef The Untouchable
(1997), based loosely on the secret-agent life of art histori-
an Anthony Blunt. Banville's precise and often cold prose divides critics, who consider him
either the English language's greatest living stylist or an unreadable intellectual; if you're
of the latter inclination then you should check out his immensely enjoyable (and highly
readable) crime novels, written under the pseudonym of Benjamin Black: the most recent
ones include
A Death in Summer
(2011),
Vengeance
(2012) and
Holy Orders
(2013). Other
established favourites include Wexford-born but Dublin-based Colm Tóibín (1955-), au-
thor of nine novels including
Brooklyn
(2009) and the novella
The Testament of Mary
(2012), which deals with the life of Mary, mother of Jesus, in her old age.
Besides these established authors, the contemporary scene is benefiting from the arrival
of a slew of new writers with a Generation Y perspective on life, love and growing up in
Ireland. New themes are being explored to wonderful effect, including the experience of
the migrant communities, the atomising effect of the Celtic Tiger and the struggle for sexu-
al equality, which have all found their way onto the pages of topics by new voices eager to
tell the story of contemporary Ireland. Outstanding talents include the likes of Ciarán
Collins, whose debut novel
The Gamal
(2013) is a wonderfully poignant and funny look at
the pains of adolescence in a small Irish community. Gavin Corbett's
This is the Way
(2013) tells of the travails of a Traveller (a member of Ireland's indigenous itinerant com-
