Author:Henry Hughes
Fishing Stories nets an abundant catch of wonderful writing in a wide variety of genres and styles. The moods range from the rollicking humour of Rudyard Kipling’s “On Dry-Cow Fishing as a Fine Art” and the rural gothic of Annie Proulx’s “The Wer-Trout” to the haunting elegy of Norman Maclean’s “A River Runs Through It.”
Many of these tales celebrate human bonds forged over a rod, including Guy de Maupassant’s “Two Friends,” Jimmy Carter’s “Fishing with My Daddy,” and Ernest Hemingway’s The Garden of Eden. Some deal in reverence and romance, as in Roland Pertwee’s “The River God,” and some in adventure and the stuff of legend, as in Zane Grey’s “The First Thousand-Pounder” and Ron Rash’s “Their Ancient Glittering Eyes.” There are works that confront head-on the heartbreaks and frustrations of the sport, from Thomas McGuane’s meditation on long spells of inaction as the essence of fishing in “The Longest Silence” to Raymond Carver on a boy’s deflated triumph in the gut-wrenching masterpiece “Nobody Said Anything.” And alongside the works of literary giants are the memories of people both great and humble who have found meaning and fulfillment in fishing, from a former American president to a Scottish gamekeeper’s daughter.
Whether set against the open ocean or tiny mountain streams, in ancient China, tropical Tahiti, Paris under siege, or the vast Canadian wilderness, these stories cast wide and strike deep into the universal joys, absurdities, insights, and tragedies of life.
A warm, witty, and wise collection . . . This anthology gathers genuine, artful verse . . . Good literary stuff to accompany a single malt by the fire. Buy a copy for the study and another to be battered in your angling grip.
—— Gray's Sporting JournalHe writes short stories that will satisfy any reader
—— Shane Hegarty , Irish TimesThis book of short stories seals Barry's rep as one of the most original voices to emerge from the Emerald Isle in some years. Full of acute observation and sly wit, this collection is the ideal companion to his equally excellent novel, City of Bohane
—— Ryan Rushton , SkinnyThese darkly comic short stories are beautifully written and the author’s keen appreciation of the vernacular makes the characters leap off the page and thump you in the face
—— Ciara Geraghty , Woman's WayWonderfully, restlessly alive
—— The TimesLingers like the best kind of novel
—— MetroA shot of joy in the dark
—— Financial TimesLike a spade to the face... There is a vividness to his writing that plants you immediately at its heart
—— Chris Power , GuardianExtraordinary...affecting and memorable
—— Robert Collins , Sunday TimesSkilfully crafted
—— Henry Krempels , ObserverMany consider to be one of the best authors currently in the UK. This collection of short stories shows British penchant for the sublime and the ridiculous at its best
—— MonocleThe most exciting Irish short story writer of his generation, one whose best work rivals William Trevor and John McGahern. His language is thrilling: Barry has a Martin Amis-style aversion to writing so much as one dull sentence. Talent this raw and natural simply cannot be taught.
—— John Burns , Sunday TimesA rhythmic, rural Hiberno-English onslaught, which forces black humour into the bleakest of corners
—— Ruth Gilligan , TLSIreland's must-read literary author
—— Sunday Business Post MagazineWhen I read the first of these short stories, I could immediately see there was something special about this writer... Funny and beautifully observed...
—— William Leith , Evening StandardBarry is undoubtedly acquainted with the darker side of existence and unafraid to depict it with humour and great humanity
—— John Harding , Daily MailThis vividly told collection of short stories spans love, cruelty and desperation
—— The TimesBarry’s best stories combine playful irony with high emotion
—— Emma Hagestadt , IndependentKevin Barry…isn’t sparing with his powers. Even his throwaway lines are keepers… But what makes this book such a satisfying read is that his memorable sentence-writing is in the service of well-constructed, moving stories
—— Susannah Meadows , New York TimesThese stories won’t give you easy moral comfort, but will stretch you. They’re moral in that they name things as they are
—— Father Ronald Rolheiser , Catholic HeraldDear Life is a dazzling portrait of ordinary existence which illustrates how seemingly insignificant meetings and moments can have a monumental impact
—— UpcomingThis collection is beautiful; full of pure, simple truths that linger long in the mind
—— Philip Womack , New Humanist
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