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Dark Lies the Island by Kevin Barry (view source)
Revision as of 09:20, 2 April 2018
, 09:20, 2 April 2018no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Dark Lies the Island
|author=Kevin Barry
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=9780224090582
|pages=192
|publisher=Jonathan Cape
|date=April 2012
|summary=A collection of 13 short stories from the unpredictably dark and often very funny mind of Costa-nominated Kevin Barry.
|cover=0099575078
|aznuk=0099575078
|aznus=0224090585
}}
''Dark Lies the Island'' is a collection of 13 short stories from the gloriously dark and frequently very funny Kevin Barry. You can probably tell from that, I'm a huge fan of his work. Barry is one of the few writers who can be relied on to make me laugh out loud while reading his books, even when in public places. It can get you strange looks, believe me.
There's nothing particularly deep or meaningful about this collection - and equally it's blissfully free of those short stories that make you go 'huh?' at the end. It's purely about the entertainment of the individual tales. His subject matter veers towards the dark, often involving criminals, drugs and alcohol, and many are set in Ireland or feature Irish people.
Barry is like a slightly more risque version of [[:Category:Roddy Doyle|Roddy Doyle]], and that is no bad thing at all. Like Doyle, he brilliantly captures dialogue, both spoken and internal and has a great eye for the absurdities and often tragedies of modern life. But while with Doyle you have a sense of comfort about where the story is heading, with Barry you know to expect the unexpected and this unpredictability is often thrilling and usually darkly funny.
Our thanks to the kind people at Jonathan Cape for inviting us to review this collection.
If you haven't yet read the Costa-nominated [[City of Bohane by Kevin Barry|City of Bohane]], what are you waiting for? As suggested, if you like Barry, then the chances are that you will also love [[Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle]].
{{amazontext|amazon=02240905850099575078}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=86129310224090585}}
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