The Boatman and Other Stories

The breathtaking short story collection from the Costa-shortlisted Irish writer Three gunshots on the Irish border define the course of a young man´s life; a writer clings fast to a star-crossed affair with a woman who has never been fully in his reach; a fisherman accustomed to hard labour rolls up his sleeves to dig a grave for his child; a pair of newly-weds embark on their first adventure, living wild on the deserted Beginish Island. Spanning a century and two continents - from the muddy fields of Ireland to a hotel room in Paris, a dingy bar in Segovia to an aeroplane bound for Taipei - these densely layered tales reveal the quiet heroism and gentle dignity of ordinary life. Ranging from the elegiac to the brutally confrontational, Billy O´Callaghan´s stories explore the resilience of the human heart and its ability to keep beating even in the wake of grief, trauma and lost love. ´The best fiction I have read this year... Taut, subtle and moving, and brought off beautifully´ John Banville, Best Books of 2020, Irish Times