22 |BookReviews BookReviews | 23 Completely bursting open ‘Everything agreat the notion of Irishness book should be – utterly original’ Seeing things from other perspectives is what literature is for, and Lucy Caldwell’s anthology of short stories delivers on this with abrilliant multiplicity of fresh narratives In his new novel, William into the internal world of ateenage girl are remarkable–the crashing boredom, the Wall has created acentral vulnerability, the drama of her days and her moods(makingliberal use of capital letters character with apowerful throughout the text to demonstrate these voice who is vulnerable emotions) and thevirtual world she spends Niamh Donnelly the most impressive for their mastery of “fresh narratives, perspectives and multi- much of her timein. craft and ability to refashion the world into plicities that are coming from immigration and unwittingly hilarious Suzy Suzy comescomplete with a BeingVarious:NewIrishShortStories an interesting narrative. to aplace so long and persistently defined glossary of teenage terminology and Edited by Lucy Caldwell Conversely, Nicole Flattery’s Kaf- by emigration.” abbreviations to help the adultreader kaesque portrayal of awoman who falls in The anthology ends up being two-thirds Julia Kelly navigate ateenager’slifeand mind.Wall Faber &Faber, 368pp, £12.99 love with achicken will make you feel she female, one-third Northern, two-thirds capturessoaccuratelySuzy’s anxiety of has invented the short story, and show you born in Ireland, two-thirds currently SuzySuzy seeing her parents not gettingalong, the how far one can throw one’s voice and still resident –amix that’s never going to be By William Wall doll’shousefragilityofthe world around as there ever any remain seated in the ancient form. all-encompassing but still feels representa- her as it begins to implode,the shouting worse advice than Why “ironically”, then? Well, by its name tive of the Ireland of today. Head of Zeus, 304pp, £18.99 and the more disturbing silence: write what you and history this anthology claims acertain We get aman internet dating in adirect “I was supposed to feel safe and know?” asked Kit sameness. Begun by the late David Marcus provision hostel, acountry where the secure because the houseISFULL OF ‘W de Waal last year. and subsequently guest edited by Joseph babies are all replaced by letters, alesbian ymam doesn’t really FUCKING SECRETS. Jesuswept twice. The self-described “middle-aged woman” O’Connor, Kevin Barry, Deirdre Madden with aMuslim girlfriend going home to a look at my dad any It’s like we’rethe fucking government who “visits Tesco and tends to her garden” and now Lucy Caldwell, New Irish Short Belfast family that is “more complicated more.Like maybe except there’s no WikiLeaks.Orasecret writes about no such character in her work. Stories has become something of an idée than Peshawar”. Irish life is flown at from sheneverdid idk but society. ARegan NEVERTALKS.” Inhabiting “other lives”, exploring “the full fixe in the Irish literary scene. Yet editors many angles. ‘M shedoesn’t now. I Suzy feelsisolated and begins to cut range of our imagination and ability” are have always pushed against its definition. But what of the reader, who is likely to don’tknow if she doesn’t want to see him herselfwith her big brother’srazors, but far more interesting and worthy. “New” didn’t necessarily mean young, nor get tossed about amid all this variousness; or she can’tsee him or just to her he’s not sheconfides in two closegirlfriends whom Jan Carson, in arecentessay for the did it mean best. “Short” was as short as a who, as Deirdre Madden observes in the there. But every time Isee her not looking shehas knownsince primaryschool: Stinging Fly, expressed asimilar sentiment. piece of string, and “story”, well, as Kevin introduction to her edition, often gets at him it hurts me.She looksatmeall Holly, who’s“adote” and whose“eyes In workshops,she saw students struggle to Barry observed: “these writers are up to all forgotten in the eagerness to showcase? right. She hatesme.” glow like the stuffinsideaseashellidk “make shitup”, insteadproducing “slightly sorts”. And then the zinger: “Irish”. That Are anthologies for readers at all? Suzy Reganisaworld-weary 17-year-old some kind of pearl” and Serena, whom she amendedaccounts of incidents whichhad false determiner of “us”. What exactly was For all the careful curation, Ifound Dubliner, consumed with self-loathingand doesn’t entirely trustand has afigure that happened them”. Therewas no creative it getting at? myself coming at this work tentatively. anintense dislike of herdysfunctional is “perf” but asmile that “is the smileofa leap,nodeparturefrom the me/my/us, to When Joseph O’Connor edited, he Like amean kid in aplayground Iran family. Her heightened teenageemotions deadpollock. It just doesn’t work.” the “other”.But as any decent writer or poked at the idea alittle. “If you’re Irish towards the friends that looked familiar to oscillatewildlyfrom occasional joy to more reader will tell you, seeing things from other enough to qualify for the Republic of me: Kevin Barry, Sally Rooney, Louise frequent despair. Suzysays she wants to kill Navigatingthemiseries perspectivesiswhat literature is for. Ireland football team, under the one- O’Neill. Ipicked and chose, fixed and her mother: “she has like two registers, as The threegirls are drawninto trying to Both Carson and de Waal feature in grandparent rule, or to cheer for it, even straightened, tried to put abit of smacht on my English teacher would say, normal and solveamurder that centres on the new Being Various: New Irish Short Stories, an ironically, when it’s playing against our the place. Which isn’t really the point. Back ballistic”; awomanwho finds her daughter owners of localstately home Ballyshane anthology where “otherness” is abundant- friends in England, you’re eligible for to de Waal: was there ever any worse equally exasperating: “SometimesIcan see House(whichher father has wanted to ly (perhaps, ironically) present. De Waal’s aseat on the squad bus.” advice than write what you know? Perhaps my motherisgoing to hit me but she stops purchase for as long as Suzy can remem- May the Best Man Win paints afilmic read what you know. herself. Like there’salittle tick of bones and ber), allthe while navigating themiseries portrait of aBirmingham pub during Multiplicities Not that those familiar things aren’t muscles and achange inthe way her hands of secondary school,acountry and afamily Muhammad Ali’s last fight, against Trevor But Caldwell seems to burst open wonderful. But the trick here is to match and her body are tilted. ..” in crisis, secrets and affairs, and Suzy’s Berbick. Awhite but black-by-association the notion of Irishness completely, the familiar with the strange, to try alittle Thebook is set in post-Celtic Tiger father’s failing health and financial barmaid, black bus drivers, West Indians in interrogating, first, her own “complicated harder with the ones you’ve never met. Ireland, where Suzy’sproperty developer troubles. trilbies, white strangers with atelevision relationship” with the place she’s from, Anthologies, and the short story as aform, dadis another source of constant irritation “My dad’s heart attackwent well.OrsoI set, aJamaican Berbick supporter –itisa then setting out her wish to portray the are not easy. They will never be the popular and anxiety, withhis unpaid taxes and believe. He gotastentand theytold him to story that hangs on tensions among its kid, the jock, the head girl. They are some- thickening arteries: “We even debated the stayaway fromwork for awhile. Which He diverse cast. thing else. Something other. Which makes housing crisis in religion class...and I Did Not Do.” Carson’s Pillars is amore interior tale them cool. And perhaps awork like this is thinkmaybe my dad is causingit. Like Wallhas ahorror of sentimentality. He about adivorcee struggling after her not for readers at all, but writers. Why not, single-handedly causing the shortage describes himself “as not beingakind and husband leaves her. The world seems when there’s so many on this island of ours; because he owns like gentlewriter”. His prose is beautifully realistic except for the “pillar” she carries – Anthologies, and the when, as Kevin Barry points out in the everything almost.” lyricaland rhythmic, his sentences clean, an indescribable thing that leaves her introduction to his edition: “at any given WilliamWall is amulti-awardwinning everyword weighed. In Suzy he has marked but also, in aperverse way, helps ‘‘short story as aform, moment [. ..]there are ten thousand author, poet and translator, whofirst took created avulnerable and unwittingly her. Our imaginations are forced to make a maniacs battering their laptops with up writing as ayoung boy when confined to hilariouscentral character whose voice, as leap; to see things and people differently are not easy. They caffeinated fingers”. bed with painfuljuvenile arthritis. He it propelsus throughsinister events, is and to try to understand. will never be the This work will shake you up alittle. It will frequently tells his stories through strong everybit as powerful and plausible as DBC Of the 24 stories, these two are neither be like going to a“Foreign Movies No femalevoices; he uses it as adistancing Pierre’sVernoninVernonGod Little or outliers nor representatives. We get popular kid, the Subtitles group”, as two of YanGe’scharac- technique, as away of keepinghimselfout Francie Brady’sinThe Butcher Boy. everything from crime fiction, to young tersdo, or, as one of Lisa McInerney’s of his books, and as ameansofmaintaining Suzy Suzy is everything agreatbook adult, to magical realism, to new modern- jock, the head girl. characters does, dating Gérard Depardieu objectivity.Powerhas always fascinated should be –humorous, poignantand ism. Many of the most realist stories – without speaking any French.