When Colin Barrettâs debut Young Skins published, it swept up several major literary awards, and, in both its linguistic originality and sharply drawn portraits of working-class Ireland, earned Barrett comparisons to Faulkner, Hardy, and Musil. Now, in a blistering follow up collection, Barrett brings together eight character-driven stories, each showcasing his inimitably observant eye and darkly funny style.Â
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 and the next, as ghosts simply wonât lay in wake; a shooting sees a veteran policewoman confront the banality of her own existence; and an aspiring writer grapples with his fatherâs cancer diagnosis and in his despair wreaks havoc on his mentorâs life.Â
The second piece of fiction from a âlyrical and tough and smartâ (Anne Enright) voice in contemporary Irish literature, HomesicknessâŊ marks Colin Barrett out as our most brilliantly original and captivating storyteller.
Colin Barrett is from County Mayo, Ireland. In 2009 he was awarded the Penguin Ireland Prize, and his debut collection Young Skins won The Rooney Prize, The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize, The Guardian First Book Award and was a National Book Foundation â5 Under 35â. In 2018 he was announced as the Rolex Arts Initiative Literary Protege, mentored by Colm Toibin. His stories have appeared in New Yorker, The Stinging Fly, New Statesman, Harper's and on BBC Radio 4.