Donal Ryan

Martin Toppy is the son of a famous Traveller and the father of my unborn child. He's seventeen, I'm thirty-three. I was his teacher. I'd have killed myself by now if I was brave enough. I don't think it would hurt the baby. His little heart would stop with mine. He wouldn't feel himself leaving one world of darkness for another, his spirit untangling itself from me.' Melody Shee is alone and in trouble. Her husband doesn't take her news too well. She doesn't want to tell her father yet because he's a good man and this could break him. She's trying to stay in the moment, but the future is looming - larger by the day - while the past won't let her go. What she did to Breedie Flynn all those years ago still haunts her. It's a good thing that she meets Mary Crothery when she does. Mary is a young Traveller woman, and she knows more about Melody than she lets on. She might just save Melody's life. Donal Ryan's new novel is breathtaking, vivid, moving and redemptive.

''He heard Daddy one time saying he was a grand quiet boy to Mother when he thought Johnsey couldn''t hear them talking. Mother must have been giving out about him being a gom and Daddy was defending him. He heard the fondness in Daddy''s voice. But you''d have fondness for an auld eejit of a crossbred pup that should have been drowned at birth.''While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns.Set over the course of one year of Johnsey''s life, The Thing About December breathes with his grief, bewilderment, humour and agonizing self-doubt. This is a heart-twisting tale of a lonely man struggling to make sense of a world moving faster than he is.Donal Ryan''s award-winning debut, The Spinning Heart, garnered unprecedented acclaim, and The Thing About December confirms his status as one of the best writers of his generation.

From the twice Man Booker longlisted author of From a Low and Quiet Sea'Poetic, powerful and heart-rending' The Times'An exquisite account of womanhood, friendship, prejudice and tradition that is both intimate in scale and awesome in achievement' Irish IndependentMelody Shee is alone and in trouble. Her husband doesn't take her news too well. She can't tell her father yet because he's a good man and this could break him. She's trying to stay in the moment, but the future is looming - larger by the day - while the past won't let her go. What she did to Breedie Flynn all those years ago still haunts her.It's a good thing that she meets Mary Crothery when she does. Mary is a young Traveller..

***LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018*** ***SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2018*** 'An engrossing, unpredictable, beautifully crafted novel' RODDY DOYLE Farouk's country has been torn apart by war. Lampy's heart has been laid waste by Chloe. John's past torments him as he nears his end. The refugee. The dreamer. The penitent. From war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland, three men, scarred by all they have loved and lost, are searching for some version of home. Each is drawn towards a powerful reckoning, one that will bring them together in the most unexpected of ways.

The stunning new novel from the Booker Prize listed bestselling author of Strange Flowers and The Queen of Dirt Island Beautiful a book full of love and hope more needed in these days than ever Kit de Waal I am blown away by the ambition and scope of this exquisite piece of writing sublime in both its sentiment and beauty Rachel JoyceSome things can send a heart spinning others will crack it in two In a small town in rural Ireland the local people have weathered the storms of economic collapse and are looking towards the future The jobs are back the dramas of the past seemingly lulled and although the town bears the marks of its history new stories are unfolding But a fresh menace is creeping around the lakeshore and the lanes of the town and the peace of the community is about to be shattered in an unimaginable way Young people are being drawn towards the promise of fast money whilst the generation above them tries to push back the tide of an enemy no one can touch Told in twenty one voices Heart be at Peace is a heartfelt lyrical novel that can be read independently or as a companion to Donal Ryan s multi award winning novel The Spinning Heart voted The Irish Book of the Decade PRAISE FOR DONAL RYAN One of the finest novelists writi

El estallido de la burbuja inmobiliaria ha dejado secuelas en un pequeño pueblo irlandés, donde la prosperidad de los últimos años ha dado paso a urbanizaciones fantasma, desempleo y desesperación. La quiebra de la constructora local, el asesinato de Frank Mahon, viejo malhumorado y de lengua viperina, y el secuestro del pequeño Dylan han conmocionado a los vecinos de esta poblacion poco habituada a salir en los periodicos. A traves de los monologos, similares a los de "Mientras agonizo" de William Faulkner y a los de "Antologia de Spoon River" de Edgar Lee Masters, de una veintena de personajes que cuentan su version de lo ocurrido, emerge un unico y demoledor relato de las consecuencias de la crisis financiera en la Irlanda profunda.Donal Ryan debuto en 2012 con esta novela, galardonada con varios premios y nominada al Booker Prize 2013, en la que nos ofrece un certero y sombrio retrato de la Irlanda contemporanea rural.Mi padre sigue viviendo al final del camino, despues de la represa, en la casucha donde me crie. Voy a verlo todos los dias para comprobar si se ha muerto, y todos los dias me decepciona. No ha dejado de decepcionarme un solo dia. Me sonrie, con esa sonrisa espantosa. Sabe que voy a comprobar si se ha muerto. Sabe que se que lo sabe. Rie con esa sonrisa torcida. Le pregunto si le va tod...

La plácida existencia de Paddy y Kit Gladney en el pequeño pueblo irlandés donde viven se viene abajo una mañana de 1973 cuando su única hija desaparece repentinamente. La joven Moll, tímida y sosegada, cogio el primer autobus a Nenagh y luego el tren a Dublin; eso es todo lo que sus padres logran averiguar. Cinco años despues de esa aciaga mañana, la llegada de un extranjero a la casa de los Gladney no hace sino añadir preguntas a los motivos de Moll para huir.Considerada como la mejor obra de ficcion del 2020 en los Irish Book Awards, "Flores extrañas" es la quinta novela de Donal Ryan.

Aunque las mujeres de la familia Aylward de Nenagh, en el condado irlandés de Tipperary, discuten a menudo entre ellas y protagonizan alguna que otra escena, su casa es un lugar de paz y un refugio de la tristeza y la crueldad del mundo. Lo sabe bien Eileen, repudiada por su familia tras quedarse embarazada y marcada por la tragica muerte de su marido. Su hija, Saoirse, crecera bajo su proteccion y la de su abuela paterna, mujeres fuertes que lucharan para que ella tenga una mejor vida en una sociedad cerrada y anclada en el pasado.

Melody Shee se enamoró de uno de los chicos más populares del instituto y acabó casándose con él, pero de ese amor solo quedan las ruinas. Ahora espera un bebé que no es de Pat, su marido, sino de un jovencisimo traveller a quien enseñaba a leer y que ahora se encuentra en paradero desconocido. Sola y abrumada por la situacion, Melody piensa en el suicidio y apenas encuentra consuelo en el cariño de su padre y la amistad que entabla con Mary Crothery, una joven traveller repudiada por su familia y protagonista involuntaria de una feroz disputa entre dos clanes. El desenlace de esa disputa y la decision de Melody sobre el bebe marcaran el destino de ambas mujeres. La tercera novela del autor de "Corazon giratorio" confirma a Donal Ryan como uno de los mejores escritores irlandeses de su generacion.

El joven Johnsey Cunliffe, hijo único de una pareja de granjeros irlandeses, sufre cada santo día el acoso y las burlas de Eugene Penrose y sus compinches, antiguos compañeros de aula ahora en el paro. Tras enterrar a su querido padre, Johnsey solo desea tranquilidad y que lo dejen en paz, pero no para de recibir visitas inesperadas. El boom del ladrillo ha llegado al pueblo y granjeros y empresarios locales quieren comprarle los terrenos recalificados de la granja. Sin embargo, el chico de los Cunliffe no quiere desprenderse de lo que ha pertenecido desde hace generaciones a su familia, y su negativa a vender sera la comidilla de vecinos envidiosos y le acarreara un sinfin de problemas. Ambientada en el mismo pueblo que "Corazon giratorio", el aclamado debut de Donal Ryan, "Un año en la vida de Johnsey Cunliffe" narra la lucha de un chico solitario y de pocas luces por comprender un mundo que avanza mas rapido que el.