Young Irelanders, New Island Books €13.99
James Granell reviews a new collection Irish short fiction.
Dave Lordan’s anthology, Young Irelanders, blows away the cobwebs of the culturally homogeneous, Catholic, conservative Ireland of the twentieth century with all of its little islander mentality, false prophets and false profits. In its place it presents the new Ireland – the island of young Irelanders. These young Irelanders are a dynamic group of contemporary authors who express the reality of life in the twenty-first century. The authors presented in the anthology navigate new ethical considerations, adapt to the new cultural and political circumstances and deal with the immense changes that have pervaded their society in recent years. By presenting twelve contemporary works of short fiction by twelve diverse authors, Young Irelanders offers the reader a sample of an evolving scene of literature that awaits discovery. Sometimes dark, but always exhilarating, this anthology will certainly provoke the reader to delve into the vibrant world of contemporary Irish fiction.
While Lordan, in his introduction, concedes that there have been other epochs — he points to the 1790s — in which the cosmopolitan and international nature of Ireland has proven fertile ground for literature to feed upon, he contends that ‘there are more talented writers, in short fiction especially, coming from a far wider range of perspectives, with more things to say and more ways of saying it, than ever before.’ He also makes the bold, and perhaps unsubstantiated, claim that the fiction of grief and mourning and of melancholy naturalism, which was prevalent during the twentieth-century ‘tempts one to describe Irish fiction in this period as a provincial or regional literature rather than a truly international one.’ Lordan contrasts this tendency towards melancholy naturalism with the more optimistic style ushered in by the emergence of a more pluralistic and inclusive Irish society as represented in this anthology.
The stories themselves merit time and savouring. This is not an anthology to rush through. Each work ought to be given its own time to allow the reader to fully appreciate the complexity of the various visions of contemporary Ireland contained within the volume.
While there is no single majorl theme running throughout the anthology but a number of the stories do contain feelings of discomfort and otherness, which perhaps challenge the idea of the pluralist and inclusive Ireland spoken about in the introduction. This is certainly evident in Kevin Curran’s Saving Tanya, Roisín O’Donnell’s How to Learn Irish in Seventeen Steps and Mia Gallagher’s 17:57:39-20:59:03. One can’t help but feel that the growing secularisation of Irish culture has had an impact on a number of the authors too. Pain, illness and misfortune have no sanctifying role in these short stories, rather they are presented as chillingly meaningless aspects of the human condition.
A couple of outstanding works deserve particular mention. In the above mentioned How to Learn Irish in Seventeen Steps, Roisín O’Donnell captures the absurdity and humour of a national language that very few on the island actually speak, while highlighting the difficulties and struggles faced by many immigrants who attempt to embrace the contradictions of Irish culture. All this is skillfully set against the backdrop of a troubled relationship. Alan McMonagle’s The Remarks is a Flann O’Brein style whirlwind, weaving the reality of shared accommodation – two minute noodles and cheap bread — with frequent visits to the vale of tears. The story defies a brief synopsis and merits reading and rereading. However, by far the best work of literature in this anthology is Subject by Oisín Fagan. It consists of a single sentence, evolving staccato style, yet sinuously capturing every emotion, reality and experience of the young Irelander in one painful yet vital breath. It is a truly masterful story, woven together with care and talent. Fagan is certainly a young author to keep an eye out for.
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