Short stories – Page 8

June 3, 2014June 3, 2014

The Wedding Day:A short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

I am aware that this collection was published in 2008 but some of the stories could have been written way before this time. This story, The wedding party has an old-Ireland feel to it. A girl and boy get married under protest. She is pregnant so the priest and parents are involved.

I loved the characters in this. Subtle and true. In fact, I enjoyed the story, all of which was set in the pub with some flashbacks. The ending was overbaked for me, too well packaged for the reader. The last paragraph could easily have been left out and have hit its impact. Great idea for a story. The characters have played on my mind since I read it.

This story comes from the “In Exile” short story collection by Billy O’ Callaghan.

June 2, 2014

Deliver us from evil:A short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

So, far this is the longest story in the collection In Exile and I liked it. I think that O’ Callaghan really suits the longer, short story as there are plenty opportunities for character development and setting as a theme.

This story is set in a time of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The story shows great knowledge of this time and focusses in on one character, Joe and his relationship with top IRA leader, Dan. With well crafted use of flashbacks, we see how the relationship and issues of the past between the two men have led to this point. We then get a brilliant scene in a pub where Joe and Dan meet after many years. Joe is left with the dilemma of whether he will take on the job that Dan is offering. Well, actually Dan isn’t offering the job. If Joe declines the job of killing loads of people on a tube in London., then Joe will not leave the bar alive. This is the conflict of the character and story, resulting in a satisfying narrative ending but with a sense of anxiety for Joe.

This is my favourite story so far and good to see the leap from the rural setting of the farm or the island to the urban and more gritty one of London and Belfast.

June 1, 2014September 11, 2020

My 4 pet hates when I read a short story

First of all, I need to pre-empt this with the fact that I know I am not a published author or an expert on the short story. All I am is a lover and avid reader of the short story. I am obsessive. And I love reading the books suggested by this virtual veterinarian app to my pet.

I want to write this post as a reader and not as a person who is trying to write, if you understand. These are the 4 things at the minute that I notice at classes where I am a student or in short stories published in the last while that have started to frustrate me.

The use of exclamation marks. I despise them. I don’t use them and don’t expect to see them. The narrative should be able to convey warning, excitement or shouting without using this very annoying mark.

The word “grin”. I hate this word. It reminds me of the Famous Five stories. Have you every heard anyone using the word “grin” in conversation? Answer is no. Smile is better or try using your expertise as a writer to show the person is “grinning” through dialogue or exposition. Today, I read a story that used it twice in a paragraph. Yuck.

The twist that attempts to trick the reader. The writer gives a glaringly obvious hint to something that I always figure out straight away and then groan and then get to the end and tell my husband that I told him so. Boring. As a reader, I am not in the business of being tricked as if the writer is much cleverer. Ireland’s Own love these type of stories. I don’t so maybe, it is a taste thing. I am being kind. Revelations that are built up slowly though imagery and characters are much better. A quiet yet powerful ending does it for me.

Irish myths. The second I see Grainne Mhaol, Fionn, Ferdia, Cuchulainn etc enter the story, I am switched off. It is lazy and not cool and I’m not interested in an Ireland of this type. Again, this could be a taste thing and I have only read of one author who pulls off this type of thing-Eilis Ni Dhuibhne. Go, ask her how she does it.

My ranting is over. i hope I don’t have to add to this list in the near future. Feel free to ignore me or comment. I love a good debate!!!!!!(I used a couple of exclamation marks to show you how joyful I am.

May 31, 2014June 1, 2014

Dubliners 100 out on 7th June

I am ultra excited, man.

I love Dubliners. We all do. Studied in uni and loved ever since. Tramp Press and Commissioning Editor, Thomas Morris(he is Stinging Fly’s new fiction editor) are publishing a reinterpretation of James Joyce’s short story collection on the 5th June at the bargain price of €15.

They have also got some pretty funky and cool writers on board. So far, on that list are Donal Ryan, John Boyne, Eimear Mc Bride and Paul Murray. To make things even more brilliant, these writers will be in conversation with Thomas Morris down at my(I am claiming this festival as I practically live next door to Borris House. Almost) Festival of Writing and Ideas in Borris House on Sunday, 15th June. The Festival runs on 14th and the 15th of June and so far, the lineup is kicking the other two “biggest and bestest” literary festivals in Ireland.

I am saying no more other than buy the book and go to Borris.

Eveline, Donal Ryan’s clever reversal of Joyce’s original tale, will be published in The Irish Times on Saturday, June 7th.

Dubliners 100 will be published by Tramp Press on June 5th, priced €15.

May 27, 2014June 1, 2014

All that jazz-a short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

This is a piece of flash fiction. It spans barely 5 pages and focuses in one moment of a young, Polish woman in a bar with a couple of stereotypical fat Irish men leering over her. The Polish lady is contrasted with the other stereotypical scantily-clad young women as the Polish lady is dressed in a jumper and jeans, strangely enough seeing as she is in a bar.

I think there is meant to be a twist at the end in that we find out she is a single mother but I am not sure of the point of this fact and in fact I am not sure of the whole point of this scene or woman.

I welcome the character of a Polish lady in Ireland and it is interesting to get into her head and thinking about Ireland but we are not left with any new observations about Ireland or Poland. As a piece of flash, it works well enough.

May 26, 2014June 1, 2014

A killer story-a short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

A killer story-a short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

My husband thinks this story is very clever whereas I don’t like these types of stories. I cannot go into much detail as I will give away the enjoyment of the story for you!

A killer story is a type of short story, as I have said, that I just don’t like. Other people do and will marvel at it. I like subtleness in an ending and I don’t want to be tricked.

It is a very short story that has a great start and development, a fresh idea and a future for the character suited to a longer piece.

In other words, I was interested in what would happen to the narrator next but the ending lets it and me down. But, read it and make up your own mind! Very different from the tone, style and endings of the other stories I have read in the collection.

That is all I am saying.

A killer story is taken from In Exile, a collection written by Billy O’ Callaghan and published by Mercier Press.

May 24, 2014June 1, 2014

In Exile-A short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

I had reached the 5th story in this collection and although, the previous story “Ghosts” moved away from the themes/setting of farming, rural isolation and island life, I was becoming a bit tired of those themes too. However, it moves quickly away from that tried and tested Irish short story setting to an urban one, which is good, I think.

In Exile tells the story of a man who has more or less escaped from his native, irish-speaking island of Cape Clear. Cape Clear brings up images of an American island, for some reason! The narrator lives with his wife, Jenny in their very urban house in Dublin. He misses his life yet he rejects it. One day, he comes across a past member from the island and this is where the story begins. It flits between island memories and present day in Dublin. I really liked this. I was able to see the life on the island and the cruelties of it alongside the torture that the narrator feels every day and even more so when he comes up against his past. This story is my favourite so far. A believable narrative voice with a real, human story.

It ends the way a good short story should. With the reader wanting to know what happens in the character’s life yet knowing if they did, that the story would then be a novel.

In Exile is a short story that is from Billy O’ Callaghan’s collection of the same name, In Exile and is published by Mercier Press.

May 23, 2014June 1, 2014

“Ghosts”, a short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

“Ghosts”, a short story by Billy O’ Callaghan. This story is taken from Billy’s short story collection, In Exile.

“Ghosts” is the fourth story of the collection and it moves away from the farming or fishing setting contained within the first three. It is set somewhere in the jungle. The time is war and we see the jungle and the war that is contained within through the eyes of a young soldier. The trauma of the soldier’s first killing is relayed with detailed accounts of the weather and how it impacts on the character’s feelings.

I found the language to be very eloquent for that of a soldier so it prevented me believing the narrator somewhat. However, the killing and the effect it has on the killer does ring true with what the reader might imagine it to be.

War is not my bag, baby so it was a story I wanted to finish quickly. However, the scene is described well and the character’s thoughts on what he had done and how this affected him are carried out well. It is not my favourite of Billy’s so far and that is down to the over eloquent language and description of the weather and the lack of me connecting to the content and setting of the story. This is not to say it is not a very competent story that will hold you till the end.

May 22, 2014June 1, 2014

“Put Down”, a short story by Billy O’ Callaghan

Put down by Billy O’ Callaghan

(From the short story collection, In Exile)

I love clever titles. This short story has an excellent title, Put down. At first glance, it means little to the reader but as we read on, we see the title refers to the relationship between the husband and wife and the general action or conflict of the story.

We have two characters, Mc Carthy and Brid. Husband and wife, living in rural Ireland. There is poverty and we are not quite sure when this is taking place. The conflict begins when the conflict begins between Brid and her trodden on husband. She wants him to do something that is necessary to the running of the farm but he does not want to do it. By the end of the story, we see that Mc Carthy is so put down that he complies with the worst thing in the world and we can only wonder at what will happen to him after this story ends.

Billy O’ Callaghan is writing about country or rural isolation and the effects on relationships. He is mostly telling us about a relationship gone bad and he contrasts it with a good relationship, the only one that was meaningful for McCarthy. We hear Brid’s voice throughout the story, instructing McCarthy and we get wonderful tastes of the landscape and the weather from beginning to the end.

This story unnerved me, it was powerfully written especially the climax, which I won’t reveal. Worth a read and does what every good short story should do-a problem, a reveal of character and a further reveal at the climax with a nudge to the future for the character.

In Exile is published by Mercier Press.

May 21, 2014June 1, 2014

A short story a day keeps the something away!

I get sent books, which is most excellent as I do love them!

The majority of them are longer pieces of work, novels or novellas. I got a new novel yesterday, which is great but it makes me feel as if I am abandoning my first love of short stories! And then, I focus on reading the novels and actually do forget the short story collections, of which I have quite a few to get through!

So, to focus me and give me a challenge, I’m going to read and blog about a new short story every day. It may very well be that I blog about a full collection in a week and a half or read random stories from all over the bookshelves in my house. Either way, I hope it brings me into focus and it promotes the brilliance that is the short story!

I will be starting off with the short story collection, In Exile by Billy O’ Callaghan and his story “The Body on the Boat” tomorrow. And there is to be no cheating on my part. Therefore, I am setting myself rules. No bulk reading of stories. No bulk and pre-dating blog posts.

I am going to try this for the month.

Let’s go!