Boatman and Other Stories, The

"I know of no writer on either side of theAtlantic who is better at exploring the human spirit under assault than BillyO'Callaghan."-Robert Olen Butler The prizewinning Irish short-story writer and author of thehighly praised novel, My Coney IslandBaby, delivers his most accomplished book of short fiction to date-apoignant story collection that "grips from the opening page" (BernardMacLaverty). Theseare twelve poignant, quietly dazzling, and carefully crafted stories thatexplore the resiliency of the human heart and its ability to keep beating inthe wake of bereavement, violence, lost love, and incomparable trauma andgrief. Spanninga century and two continents, from the muddy fields of Ireland to a hotel roomin Paris, a dingy bar in Segovia to an airplane bound for Taipei, The Boatman and Other Stories follows anunforgettable cast of characters. Three gunshots on the Irish border define thecourse of a young man's life; a writer clings fast to a star-crossed affairwith a woman who has never been fully within his reach; a fisherman accustomedto hard labor rolls up his sleeves to dig a grave for his child; and a pair ofnewlyweds embark on their first adventure, living wild on the deserted BeginishIsland. Rangingfrom the elegiac to the brutally confrontational, these densely layered talesreveal the quiet heroism and gentle dignity of ordinary life. Billy O'Callaghanis a master celebrant of the smallness of the human flame against the dark: itsstrength and its steady brightness.