Homesickness
Colin Barrett"Barrett is already one of the leading writers of the Irish short story, which is to braggingly say, one of the leading writers of the short story anywhere. He means every word & regrets every word. He just kills it." — Anne Enright, The Guardian (UK)
In a blistering follow-up collection to Young SKins, Colin Barrett brings together eight character-driven stories, each showcasing his inimitably observant eye & darkly funny style. A quiet night in a local pub is shattered by the arrival of a sword-wielding fugitive; a funeral party teeters on the edge of this world & the next, as ghosts simply won't lay in wake; a shooting sees a veteran policewoman confront the banality of her own existence; & an aspiring writer grapples with his father's cancer diagnosis & in his despair wreaks havoc on his mentor's life.
"Its comedy stands in balance to the collection’s more tragic tenor... expands [Barrett's] range, & though the first took place in the fictional Irish town of Glanbeigh, the books share a fabric shot through with dark humour, pitch-perfect dialogue & a signature freshness that makes life palpable on the page.” — Stuart Dybek, New York Times Book Review
The second piece of fiction from a "lyrical & tough & smart" (Anne Enright) voice in contemporary Irish literature, Homesickness marks Colin Barrett out as our most brilliantly original & captivating storyteller.