February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
A STAR CALLED HENRY
Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle fans can breathe again. His latest novel, "A Star Called Henry," will be published in the U.S. on Sept. 13. Doyle delivers a new work and a new character to savor: Henry Smart, described on the cover as an "adventurer, IRA assassin and lover." The story is set in the early part of this century, up to and including the 1916 Rising in Dublin. Penguin Putnam, 352 pp. $23.95.
GREEN ENGLISH
Ireland’s Influence on the English Language
Loreto Todd
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Roddy Doyle-English, Hiberno-English, Behan-English, Joyce-English, McCourt-English. When it comes to the language planted on the Irish by history, nothing is as ’twas. The Irish have turned the language of conquest into a language of contest and quest. This book explores the origins and development of English in Ireland and Ireland’s influence on that other country’s mother tongue. Irish Books and Media, 1433 Franklin Ave. East, Minneapolis MN 55404; (612) 871-3505; IrishBook@aol.com. 152 pp. $25.95.
SHADOW BOX
Antonia Logue
Derry-Born Antonia Logue’s debut novel has been widely acclaimed as a work of substance. Described in the publicity material as "a brilliant sweeping historical novel," Shadow Box is a tale of the interweaving lives of three characters from the period just before World War I: Surrealist poet Mina Loy, boxing champion Jack Johnson and Arthur Carvan, an individual who combines the unlikely titles of semiprofessional boxer, art critic, con man and nephew of Oscar Wilde. Grove Press. $24.
JENNY ROSE
Mary Anne Kelly
The latest in the Claire Bresilinsky series of novels from New York writer Mary Anne Kelly has the main character, New York native Claire Bresilinsky, arriving in County Cork for a family funeral. Needless to say, events take various turns and the result, as the publicity material puts it, is "enjoyable chaos." St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books. 336 pp. $24.95.