Irish Stories: Nonfiction, Mysteries, Cozy Books and More
Hello everyone,
In honor of St Patrick’s Day (which I think is a much bigger holiday in the United States than it is in Ireland), I did want to share some wonderful Irish stories with you all. Ireland is a country that has a rich storytelling culture and nowhere is that more evident than in their literature!
Below you will find great Irish suggestions of all kinds, from highbrow literary fiction to really fun television. I tried to find options from both Northern Ireland and the country of Ireland, and I hope you find something that works for you here! This is by no means comprehensive, so chime in if you have other great suggestions!
Also, slightly fun tidbit, did you know that there are more people who identify as having Irish ancestry in the United States than there are in Ireland proper?
The Classics: Dubliners/Ulysses by James Joyce and Trinity by Leon Uris
Ireland has a long history of occupation and not being able to control it’s own fate or narrative, and these three books are all attempts to reclaim an identity and the story of what being Irish means. While Joyce sets his books in Dublin, Uris focuses on Northern Ireland, and both authors focus on issues of identity, life, death and what it means to be Irish.
The Literary Fiction: The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
This is a long book about a young man who grows up in Dublin. As an orphan, he is adopted by a couple who don’t seem to have much use for a kid, and we get the story of both his life as a gay man and that of his unwed mother as they both deal with going against the grain in a restrictive Catholic society.
This book covers the main character’s life from infancy (and before) to middle age, and it spans many eras of Irish culture and change. It is expansive, compelling and often heartbreaking. It is truly a beautifully written book, and a great read for people who like immersive stories that follow someone’s life through multiple decades.
The Cozies: Anything by Maeve Binchy
I’m only part of the way through a Maeve Binchy book binge, but having read most of her books over the years, I can safely say that Maeve Binchy books are great comfort reads. Her writing career spanned over 30 years, and there is so much to choose from.
I love some of the older books that are set in the 50s and 60s for their reflections on Ireland’s changing culture (Circle of Friends, Firefly Summer) and I also lover her newer books as characters appear in multiple books and the world of Dublin in the 90s is really appealing (Quentins, Tara Road, Heart and Soul, Evening Class). These books do not touch on anything remotely political, and religious changes are only tangentially mentioned, which makes them peak comfort read.
The Mysteries: The Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French
Tana French writes gritty murder mysteries that have a big psychological thriller side to them. These books are about hard nosed cops who have as many personal demons and skeletons in the closet as the people they investigate. This series is dark, and often involves violence against children and young women.
This is a series of 6 books, and there is a lot to read here! While the characters, especially the POV ones, are not the same in every book, there is some overlap.
If you like crime fiction with an edge, and you want to see another side to Dublin, these are great books for you! Also, if crime TV is more your thing, this series has been adapted into a STARZ series.
The Nonfiction: Say Nothing : A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
If a good narrative nonfiction book is more up your alley, this is a really compelling story that covers some of the key figures in “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. From the 70s to today, this book is a great grounding in the cultural background and key events, and you will learn a lot about Northern Ireland and the IRA.
This is not an impartial history, but Keefe also makes a good argument for why an impartial history of this period of time is pretty much impossible. What it does instead is build a picture of the events, and then also build a picture of the context in which this information was gleaned. I haven’t read many books where the research and work behind the book is so present on the page, but in this case, I think it is necessary for the reader.
The Television Series: Derry Girls, available on Netflix
So while this isn’t a book, for me, no list of Irish storytelling would be complete without the 2 season masterpiece that is Derry Girls. This is not my sense of humor AT ALL, and yet I binged it really quickly and laughed the whole way through. It took me about an episode and a half to get into the rhythm of this show, and once I did, I thought it was great!
While aspects of this feel surreal, the references in this are all absolutely real, and when I read Say Nothing, it made me appreciate elements of this show so much more!
The Movie: Waking Ned Devine, available on Hulu
This is one of my all time favorite movies. Set in a TINY town in Ireland, this movie is utterly perfect in pretty much every way. When someone wins the lottery, best friends Jackie and Michael and Jackie’s wife Annie set out to figure out who it is. Along the way, we meet a cast of unforgettable characters and get to laugh, cry and hold out breaths and I love this in and out.
I also love this for so many reasons, from the beautiful music and scenery, to the kooky characters, all played by people who look like normal people instead of actors and actresses and I watch it at least once a year.
I hope you all found something to enjoy in this post, and Happy St Patrick’s Day!!!
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