A long way from hardback
Colum McCann related a story on RTÉ Radio last week, which is also published as a Village column, swearing to us of its truth despite how fantastic it sounds.
He and fellow author Sebastian Barry were taking a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge last year, the two leading lights of Irish letters deep in conversation. Their concentration was broken when a cyclist rode between them. The rider looked back to apologise and then came to a halt, revealing herself to be another Irish writer, Nuala Ó'Faoláin. Of these, Barry is the man getting the attention this week as his admirable second novel arrives in paperback and is accompanied here by a booksigning tour. Named for the trench song about Tipperary, A Long Long Way sets its protagonist in both the first world war and then in the Easter Rising in Dublin as he makes his way back to his home in Sligo. A surprise addition to the Man Booker shortlist last year, it has justified the high praise latterly heaped upon it.
Shriver arrives
Book Notes sees that A History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka has finally cracked the UK top-five paperbacks, almost two years after its release. The English woman's debut novel redefines the slow-burner, gaining fans from all corners and continuing to sell beyond expectation due to the delighted readers who have made it a word-of-mouth hit (despite an unalluring title). The first real attention it received was when it was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2004. She was beaten by Lionel Shriver, winner with We Need to Talk about Kevin, a story told in letters between Kevin's parents, when their 15-year-old son went on a Columbine-like rampage in his school. Shriver is in Dublin to give a reading of her new book Double Fault at Waterstones on Dawson Street at 6pm on Friday 29 April. The book tells of the partnership between two tennis professionals and the rise and fall of their marriage, contrasted with their fortunes on the circuit and their attitudes to the game. Lionel Shriver's name, curiously masculine, is adopted. Like George Elliot, she preferred her chances of selling books if recognised as a man.
The price is right
Book Notes named Richard Price's Samaritan as best thriller of 2004, a taut, surprising read with convincing characters set in the New Jersey housing projects that annex New York. Price is most famous for Clockers and The Wanderers, but it is Freedomland, his 1998 novel, which is back on the shelves and in the news thanks to a movie version due for imminent release. It stars Julianne Moore as a mother who has been carjacked, and loses her baby in the drama. She is investigated by cop Samuel L Jackson and reporter Edie Falco, the latter from the locally set The Sopranos. Price is the thinking-man's thriller writer, more James Ellroy than John Grisham. The movie has been adapted by Price himself and though we have yet to see it, we can heartily recommend the novel on which it is set.
Hidden treasure
Planned your summer holiday yet? Book Notes might be able to help. You may recall last year's piece on the book of fairytales A Treasure's Trove which led its child readers, through clues in the text, to jewels hidden in forest parks throughout the US. Now, for the Sudoku-obsessed, comes the adult version. Secrets of the Alchemist Dar by millionaire – or more correctly, philanthropist – Michael Stadtler is to be released around the world in the autumn. Based on the 1970s book Masquerade, which led to the eventual uncovering of a million pounds in Bedfordshire, the Secrets book has a series of riddles which lead the reader to jewels hidden around the world. No clues are forthcoming at this time but Book Notes hopes one might just be secreted locally, dispensing with the need for all that energy-sapping travel.