Roundup of the latest and greatest Irish books

Among the cast of Sullivan’s novel is the Irish (lapsed) Catholic Celia, who says Hail Marys like a superstition, the beautiful Southerner Bree, who arrives at Smith engaged to her high school sweetheart but graduates with a very different idea of love, radical feminist April, who is willing to risk life and limb to expose the horrors of sex trafficking in America, and Sally, who begins college mourning the loss of her mother. While the four girls initially seem to have nothing in common, they form a bond that stays with them even as they face marriage, motherhood, and mortality. Look for an interview with Sullivan, who maintains her day job in the editorial department of The New York Times, in the next issue.

$24.95 / 336 pages / Knopf

 

"The Lacemakers of Glenmara" by Heather Barbieri

Heather Barbieri’s “The Lacemakers of Glenmara” does not exactly have an original premise.

Kate Robinson is a 26-year-old Irish American who flees to Ireland when she feels overwhelmed by life in the States. Naturally, she becomes enmeshed in the lives of a colorful cast of local characters in Glenmara, among them the members of a dedicated lace-making group.

Still, “Lacemakers” has plenty of heart and charm. “You can always start again,” Kate’s mother once told her, “all it takes is a new thread.”

Barbieri’s characters are nothing if not memorable, particularly the members of the group that gives the book its title. There’s Bernie, a widow, and Aileen, who seems helpless in the face of her teenage daughter’s growing independence. There’s also Moira, who is trapped in an abusive relationship.

Meanwhile, it just so happens there’s also a fellow Kate meets, an artist, who perhaps could use a lady friend to overcome some of his own past traumas.

The “Lacemakers of Glenmara” is not exactly for everyone. But those who enjoy a colorful romantic yarn will eat it up. 

$24.99 / 268 pages / Harper

 

NON FICTION

"A Saint on Death Row" by Thomas Cahill

In 2003, best-selling author Thomas Cahill (“How the Irish Saved Civilization”) was in Texas. A retired Irish Catholic judge named Sheila Murphy recommended he pay a visit to a convicted murderer named Dominique Green. He did not encounter a cold-blooded killer but, instead, what Cahill calls “A Saint on Death Row,” the title of his latest book.

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Nster.com