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Irish Girl (2009)

by Tim Johnston(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

157441271X (ISBN13: 9781574412710)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

University of North Texas Press

review 1: This collection, in a word, is dark. By that I don't mean the stories are about extravagant evil, at least in a gratuitous or provocative sense, but rather that Johnston's characters are average people in whom average good necessarily exists alongside average evil. They react to life's stressors by making decisions that we all make every day; to us they appear, more than anything, like you and me and everyone we know. The difference between us and them, between our consciousness and theirs, is a result of the psychological depth with which Johnston's stark, honest, and brutal storytelling strips away their egos to reveal the dark side of their (our) choices. This is a dark side that must exist, and that our egos must repress if we are to live with ourselves. It's also a si... morede that only a gifted writer can render, which Johnston does through striking, colorful, and evocative prose. Not every story worked for me, but in my opinion the entire collection is worth reading because of "Jumping Man," one of the truest and most haunting stories about human nature that I've read in a while.
review 2: A collection of 8 dark, short stories that are impeccably written. They're beautiful but creepy. And I don't mean ghost-story-creepy, but more along the lines of an eerily familiar realism. Johnston writes about those traits/habits/choices that make people go to any length to keep them hidden. He writes about them in a way that's secretive, yet extremely revealing - you feel like you're peeking through a keyhole, yet you're getting a widescreen HD view. I'm amazed at how much is conveyed in these stories, much more than some entire novels accomplish. I was fascinated the entire time I was reading, and often covered in goosebumps. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of short stories - or interested in writing. less

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