Incest, Angst, Angels,

Homegrown Irish Book World Blossoms
By Anna Carey
Phat Traffic Productions

It may have taken a while, but modern Irish literature is selling well all over the world. And the majority of new Irish writers have achieved success without losing their own distinctive voice. That doesn't mean hard hitting stories about theTroubles in Northern Ireland or romantic tales from Irish mythology.

The most heartening thing about the Irish literature boom is that Irish writers are writing about Ireland as it is, or, in some case, as it was very recently. And all this has been helped by the fact that the homegrown Irish publishing industry is doing remarkably well, meaning that authors who a few years ago would have had no choice but to try and break in to the intimidating British publishing world can now begin on their own turf. So what are they coming up with? Well, just about everything, from drug addiction, to German angels, to rural incest to the old story of the Irish making their way to other countries. 

Emer Martin's More Bread Or I'll Appear (Houghton-Mifflin, $23 hardcover, 1999; Bantam, $12 softcover, 2000) is a timely reminder of a rapidly vanishing Ireland, one in which entire families of young people had no option but to emigrate. Aisling, the eldest child of a dysfunctional family, leaves the dour Ireland of the 1980s for adventures abroad. But when years go by without any contact whatsoever, the family matriarch Molly sends her younger daughter Keelin around the world in search of her lost sibling. Following in Aisling's footsteps, Keelin finds herself embarking on a bizarre, disturbing adventure through Japan and America.

Emer Martin's description of the family -- slightly slimy Uncle Oscar, Molly's pampered brother, charismatic Aisling, anorexic Siobhan, frustrated Orla and Patrick and Keelin, hungry for adventure - is utterly convincing. More Bread or I'll Appear is an intriguing, complex and ultimately moving book.
And it's not the only one to accurately depict Ireland's recent past. John Trolan'sAny Other Time (Brandon, $14.95) is another look at the Dublin of 15 years ago. It's 1986, and in Dublin drug use and unemployment are both far too high. Drug-addicted Davy Byrne is just out of Mountjoy jail and back in Ballymun, the deprived area of north Dublin in which Alan Parker's movie of Roddy Doyle's The Commitments was filmed. Davy's looking for ways to make money -- most of which involve drugs or violent crime.
While the people of Ballymun don't really need yet another book reinforcing the popular misconception of their entire area as a drug-filled scumbag asylum, Trolan's portrayal of a hopeless underclass is both convincing and chilling. And while at time his writing can appear a little forced, he has a rare and genuine gift for dialog. The result is relentlessly grim, but undeniably powerful, and a book which might come as a shock to those with a rosy mental image of modern Ireland.

But it's not just Dublin writers who are making their mark. There have been many novels written about the bleak darkness lurking under the healthy surface of Irish rural life, and most of them are pretty terrible. Martin Malone's debut novel, however, is an exception.Us (Poolbeg, $12.95) is the story of "an unusual family," told from the points of view of its individual members, from teenage twins Morris and Victor to Milly, the mother horrified by what her family has become.

With its themes of incest, suicide and general, horrible dysfunction, at times Us resembles a less-sickening version of Iain Banks'The Wasp Factory -- there's a similarity of tone, that mixture of true nastiness and black humor. But this is ultimately a distinctly Irish book -- and a very good one too. Anyone interested in discovering the mundane yet freakish realities of Ireland today (albeit as seen through a very dark filter) should read it.

Of course, not every Irish writer confines themselves to solely writing about their native land. Watching Angels by Kevin McDermott (Marino, $12.95) moves from Ireland to wartime Germany to modern Dresden and even to Renaissance Italy. An old Jewish man returning with his young grandson to Germany for the first time since leaving it as a wartime refugee; his childhood traumas; and the painting of Raphael's masterpiece, the Sistine Madonna, are the three threads running through the Dublin writer's debut novel. 
Unfortunately, despite McDermott's best efforts, the whole thing is a little too incoherent, and the linking theme of "ministering angels" is the sort of thing that too easily becomes trite and cloying, and the result is moreTouched by an Angel thanWings of Desire.

But probably the best recent Irish book to blend life at home or abroad is Kate O'Riordan's adorable The Angel in the House (Flamingo, $24.95). It tells the story of Robert, a charming, rather bored failed artist and successful restorer of Victorian paintings. In his mid-30s, Robert finds himself becoming a little jealous of his oldest and best friend, Peter, who seems, on one level at least, to have it all --nice wife, nice kids, nice house. 
Then, while lecturing at the Victoria and Albert Museum, he meets the mysterious Angela, a sweet, kind Irish "social worker" with a very odd family -- including Uncle Mikey, who has been living in the attic for decades. A strange love story begins, but while she has no qualms telling Robert about Uncle Mikey, there's something even more important Angela isn't telling her new friend. She's a nun. Well, a novice nun anyway and one who's just about to take her final vows.

O'Riordan was born in London (where she now lives) of Irish parents and brought up in Ireland, and like so many of Ireland's diaspora, seems to feel equally at home in both London and rural Ireland. The Angel in the House is an unpatronizing look at a culture clash between two places that aren't as similar or as different as they might first appear. Unfazed by the rest of the world, and cheerfully proud of her own part of it, O'Riordan's writing seems to exemplify the best aspects of modern Ireland.
It's a good sign.
 
 

The books mentioned above can be obtained from Irish Books & Media, 800-229-3505; or email at irishbook@aol.com. Shipping is $4 for individual copies and 50 cents for each additional copy.