Author:F X Toole
'Ring magic is different from the magic of the theatre, because the curtain never comes down - because the blood in the ring is real blood, and the broken noses and the broken hearts are real, and sometimes they are broken forever. Boxing is the magic of men in combat, the magic of will, and skill, and pain, and the risking of everything so you can respect yourself for the rest of your life.'The hermetic world of boxing is notoriously difficult for outsiders to understand, though it has provided a source of fascination to numerous writers, including Norman Mailer, A.J. Liebling, Joyce Carol Oates and Ernest Hemingway. F.X. Toole is a dazzling new writer with a fresh and original voice, who has been a boxing professional for over twenty-five years. Rope Burns, a collection of short stories and a novella, is written from this unique perspective.
From Roald Dahl, the master of the sting in the tail, a newly collected book of his darkest stories
—— from publisher's descriptionOne of the most widely read and influential writers
—— The TimesThe absolute master of the twist in the tale
—— ObserverFox's prose is poised and confident, a well-honed tool with which to treat his delicate subject matter.
—— Rob Doyle , Sunday TimesThe best of these stories are very good indeed ... While there are few happy souls in these arresting stories, the reader can find consolation in Fox's supple prose and frequently subtle insights
—— Irish IndependentFox joins a band of new talented Irish short story writers, like Colin Barrett and Mary Costello, with this assured debut collection
—— RTE GuideThese are thoughtful, well-told stories that bring home how hard it can be to belong
—— HeraldImpressive ... First-person narrators, their voices deceptively casual and conversational, draw the unsuspecting reader in before they strike. Against a backdrop of ordinary settings and pared-down realism, the arresting images, when they come, have an explosive force
—— The LadyA superb collection ... compassionate and knowing
—— Irish ExaminerOutstanding
—— Hot PressA remarkable new talent ... He is able to tread so lightly that we only realise we have been cleverly punched in the solar plexus after we finish the last line
—— Dermot Bolger , Irish Mail on SundaySam Miller's memoir Fathers is ostensibly about a family secret. But its true subject is a family silence… The book is about ways to be a father, but also, more generally, about ways to be a man, from the 1950s to now. Should you be an intellectual, and write letters full of irony and wit? How camp are you allowed to be, or how fearful of homoeroticism? Must you be good at manual labour? Where do you stand in relation to class or entitlement? Should you be more interested in football than you are?
—— William Leith , Evening StandardMorrissy has been compared to Joyce and Chekov. She’s brilliant.
—— iMary Morrissy’s persuasive stories sidle up to you quietly and before you know it have you wrapped up in their embrace… We meet people on the edge… in this resonant collection from an accomplished writer.
—— Donal O'Donoghue , RTE GuideAn outstanding collection…She is a true heir to Chekhov and the great writers
—— Éilís Ní Dhuibhne , Irish Times