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 and 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 and 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 and the next, as ghosts simply won't lay in wake; a shooting sees a veteran policewoman confront the banality of her own existence; and an aspiring writer grapples with his father's cancer diagnosis and 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, and 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 and 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 and tough and smart" (Anne Enright) voice in contemporary Irish literature, Homesickness marks Colin Barrett out as our most brilliantly original and captivating storyteller.