It's World Book Day 2019 and what better way to celebrate than with one of these great new Irish books
Don't know what to read this World Book Day? Well, we have a selection of new Irish books for you to try. Take your pick from the selection below.
Looking for Irish book recommendations or to meet with others who share your love for Irish literature and writers? Be sure to join to IrishCentral Book Club here and enjoy our book-loving community.
"Grace After Henry" by Eithne Shortall
When the love of her life, Henry, is killed in a freak accident, Grace feels like she's lost her own shadow. All that's left to do is climb out of the crater of her former life and try to go on.
Which is what she does, moving into the Dublin dream house they bought together, returning to her successful career as a chef, and watching big dumb movies with her elderly neighbor at the weekends.
But what do you do with a broken heart that feels like it can't ever be mended? And how do you explain to others that although only one person is gone the whole world now feels empty?
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Grace After Henry
In "Grace After Henry" Dublin author Eithne Shortall goes after the biggest challenges of all, the ones that can shatter your life and threaten to unmoor it forever. Along the way she explores the little superstitions and rituals, we can cling to for a bit of solace, to prolong a memory we fear is fading.
Then, before she knows what's hit her, Henry's long lost twin brother is at her doorstep. Andy, as he's called, is the image of Henry, but not quite a carbon copy. He's turned up in Ireland to unravel the mysteries of his own family and Grace is one of the biggest.
You can see where this is going, right? Wrong. Shortall isn't interested in taking the easy road so expect some genuine emotional upheaval and expect to laugh a lot too.
What remains of us is love, she reminds us, and what connects us is love too. This life-affirming novel is made of hard-won wisdom and it marks her out as a serious contender for the bestseller lists this spring.
Putnam, $16.00.
"Granuaile The Pirate Queen" by John and Fatti Burke
Now here's a story they should have read you in the nursery. Granuaile, the Irish woman known as the Pirate Queen, was a real historical person from County Mayo, and her adventures are captivating enough to inspire anyone.
The daughter of a great trader and sea captain, 500 years ago she was the talk of the country. Her parents wanted her to be a fine lady and get married, but she wanted to cut her hair short and sail the high seas in search of riches and adventure. She was gas.
As this charmingly illustrated book says, “The other sailors said she was as good as them. But Granuaile knew she was better.”
The thing is, she was. Once when she was in labor on her ship on the high seas it was attacked by Algerian pirates. After giving birth to her son Tibbot she immediately joined the fray to repel the invaders. Capturing their ship she returned home with new spoils and a new baby. That's pretty cool, you have to admit.
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Granuaile: The Pirate Queen
This book, aimed at younger readers, is vividly illustrated bringing its mercurial subject to life in panel after panel. Ireland has a long history of take-charge rebel girls and this lively little book wants you to know it.
Some girls want to marry a handsome prince, others say forget that I want to own castles and have a life of high adventure on the open seas. Granuaile, The Pirate Queen was one such woman and this book will firmly settle any family disputes about the differences between the birds and the bees.
Dufour, $22.00.
"Spies: Ireland's War of Independence" by Brian Gallagher
It can be hard to understand just how cathartic the War of Independence was in Ireland but Spies, written by Brian Gallagher, places you right in the heart of the conflict. After spying for the rebels in Balbriggan outside Dublin, young orphan Johnny is tasked with an even more dangerous mission.
This is the Dublin of Michael Collins and the secret war against British Intelligence, and so Johnny, who's just 14, has to navigate a world of gunmen, soldiers, informers and the infamously heinous Black and Tans militia.
Spies: Ireland's War of Independence
It's a time when people are forced to decide where their loyalties lie and so Johnny and his good friends Alice and Stella (the daughter of a British officer who risked her own life to save him) have their relationships tested as the war grows more lethal.
It all leads up to an age-old question in a divided land. Which do you choose, your friends or your cause?
Dufour, $15.00.
What are you reading this World Book Day 2019? Let us know in the comments section, below.
Looking for Irish book recommendations or to meet with others who share your love for Irish literature and writers? Be sure to join to IrishCentral Book Club here and enjoy our book-loving community.
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