the only book i've rated 5 stars in 2023 (so far)

[novemberninth]

It always amazes me how Jack can extensively promote and talk enthusiastically about a book and makes me very interested in it without ever going into spoilers. That requires some skill!

[maya]

for anyone looking for the film made based on this book that Jack was talking about at the end there, it’s called “An Cailín Ciúin”, or “The Quiet Girl” in English, it was originally produced as an Irish language film and has been translated too

[barbaradora]

The way you talk about books, Jack, honestly! I can’t wait for your own novel to be published so I can read it! I mean, being a writer myself (and trying to start a booktube channel) I only now realize what an art this is. How did you get to become so mature at such a young age?? Speechless…

[barbaramccoy]

The nuance in this novella is breathtaking. It is like watching the life in a pond from above the water, I think. That last line has haunted me. Pair it with what her uncle told her about women knowing things.

[QuirkyGirl]

“It’s really beautiful and elegant in its ordinariness.” Sounds like a book for me😊 TFS!

[aoifeb]

I read Foster as part of my final school exams in Ireland 6 years ago it has stuck with me forever since and gets better with every reread! The movie is definitely my favourite movie of all time, a masterpiece and the decision to tell the story as Gaeilge (in the Irish language) was the best decision to have been made as it only serves to enrich the story. It is up for an Oscar today and and I’ve my fingers crossed for it!

[LucyAnn]

Freckles is a brilliant book by Irish author Cecelia Ahern. It revolves around the quote "everyone is the average of the 5 people they spend the most time with". It's incredible!

[rachaeldiviney]

If you want another 5 star, can I recommend The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas. I think it's the type of book you'd love. There's a scene where I felt like the book was genuinely hypnotising me, it was a singular experience

[isoseismic]

I read Foster last month on Kindle. I finished it at work, and shouldn’t have, because I had to keep from blubbering. I immediately bought a physical copy for my wife and sent a cooy to my Mom. Great book.

[hydrosphere]

Given your comment on loving duality of endings that keep you thinking I can see why you loved Home fire so much! Finished it thus week and damn that ending. Like it was good obviously and yes it was the right place to end it but I desperately wanted just 1 more page. Just 1! Rarely so surprised by an ending and that clash of inevitability and shock. Like in hindsight of course but did not expect that moment so suddenly and so dropped. The ending killed me but from your description here sounds exactly like your cup of tea! For everyone that hasn't read it it really is an amazing and unusual book. So emotive but understated and real given the intensity of the subject matter.

[hydrosphere]

Thats so true. Hadn't really twigged panenka as an Irish book specifically as I'd forgotten thar detail but that's my favourite in the last year or so and I loved foster too. I love the books with very little plot but just life. Nothing dramatised. No big plot devices. Nothing about daily life is even exaggerated. They can be profoundly emotional but just so gentle in how it comes together. The type that's hard to put a finger on why it's special or even explain but just gentle and gorgeous.

[micahsnow]

I just read “Small Things Like These” by her and loved it even more. I agree with you that I love how Irish fiction can somehow say so much with so little. Very much like the character in this story who “says as much as she needs to”, Keegan is particularly gifted in this. She creates a richer world in 50 pages or so than many can do in hundreds. I think this works its way even into the dialogue of the characters. I love the way the Irish pose their statements as questions (“where is he at himself?” “Isn’t he in the back with the cows.”) It’s not actually a question but it’s like this ambiguity that exists within their language. It’s as if they’re acknowledging the instability within their lives in an oblique way. Love it.

[ela]

they made a movie based on this book- called “an cailín ciúin”, which is still in Irish cinemas. watched it last weekend, really enjoyed it. pity u didn’t get to watch the movie while in ireland !

[bookoffholicbookwart]

I read small things like these and had mixed reactions, so I wasn't sure about this one. But, the moment Jack said Anne of green gables, I know I want to pick this ASAP. That book is my life, heart, kidney, etc.

[phoebepierard]

If you love the focus on the everyday and “normal people”, I’d also recommend reading contemporary New Zealand literature! Maybe starting with something like Noelle McCarthy’s “Grand” which actually starts off in Ireland and then follows her journey to NZ would be good (especially as it’s just been nominated for the Ockham awards here!)

[nikitabyrne]

Foster was a book I was made read in school here in Ireland it was a part of our curriculum. I remember it being one of the first books I ever felt deep emotions from it’s so beautifully written

[mauranepieters]

About silence in Irish fiction, you should read Milkman by Anna Burns!

[mmarieritter]

This book was brilliant - I'd read Small Things Like These and picked this up after you showed it on a short or something. Thanks for the rec! As I'm also on an Irish lit journey, I have to recommend The Wonder by Emma Donahue (who wrote Room). It is a real kick in the teeth. Essentially, an English nurse comes to the bedside of an 11-year old girl who hasn't eaten for months, and the locals believe she's living proof of a miracle in their dusty Irish Catholic town. Historical, well-researched, themes of faith and family and how we deal with trauma both in childhood and as adults. It wasn't QUITE 5-star but very much worth the read. Looking forward to reading the rest of Claire Keegan's work with you this year - thanks for all you do!

[paulkelly-copland]

My husband got me ‘Snowflake’ by Louise Nelson which is an Irish novel that gave me real Normal People vibes but it was darkly funny. I loved it. I think you might enjoy it!

[kathryn]

Woah! Coincidentally, I actually started Anne of GG tonight with my 8yo daughter at bedtime & then this book afterward… I immediately drew the same parallel & loved that for us as a pair. 😊 Thanks!!