The Irish Short Story at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century : Tradition, Society and Modernity

In the mid-1990s, Ireland was experiencing the â••best of timesâ••. The Celtic Tiger seemed to instil in the national consciousness that poverty was a problem of the past. The impressive economic performance ensured that the Republic occupied one of the top positions among the worldâ••s economic powers. During the boom, dissident voices continuously criticised what they considered to be a mirage, identifying the precariousness of its structures and foretelling its eventual crash. The 2008 recession proved them right. Throughout this time, the Irish contemporary short story expressed distrust. Enabled by its capacity to reflect change with immediacy and dexterity, the short story saw through the smokescreen created by the Celtic Tiger discourse of well-being. It reinterpreted and captured the worst and the best of the country and became a bridge connecting tradition and modernity. The major objective of this book is to analyse the interactions between fiction and reality during this period in Ireland by studying the short stories written by old and emergent voices published between the birth of the Celtic Tiger in 1995 up to its immediate aftermath in 2013. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Information 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgements 11 1 Introducing the Story 12 Notes 19 2 Theorising and Discussing Ireland and Its People in the Context of the Post-Celtic Tiger Republic: A Theoretical Story 20 2.1 Post-Colonialising Irishness: An Anglo-Irish Love-Hate Story 24 2.2 Feminising Irishness: Her Story 30 2.3 Homosexualising, Lesbianising and Queering Irishness: Their Story 37 2.4 Multiculturalising Irishness: The Others’ Story 40 2.4.1 Travelling and Romanising Irishness: A Traditional Story 41 2.4.2 Immigrating and Expatriating Irishness: A Welcome Story 45 Notes 51 3 Historicising Irishness: Ireland’s Story 55 3.1 Shrinking Irishness: A Story About the Great Famine 55 3.2 Disseminating Irishness: A Story About Emigration and Exile 60 3.3 Monopolising Irishness: A Story About the Making of the Irish Catholic Realm and the Fading of Its Glory 64 Notes 73 4 Short-Storying Irishness: Old and New Ways of Narrating Stories 75 4.1 Defining and Delimiting the Irish Short Story Form 75 4.2 Describing the State of the Irish Short Story at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century 78 Notes 96 5 Exploring Ireland and Its People Through the Lens of the Contemporary Short Story at the Turn of the Twenty-First … 98 5.1 Colouring Symbolism in Claire Keegan’s Rural Ireland From “Walk the Blue Fields” 98 5.2 Doubling Morality in Julia O’Faolain’s “The Corbies’ Communion” 105 5.3 Seizing the Change in William Trevor’s “Of the Cloth” 110 5.4 Taking One’s Relatives From Pride to Shame in Colm Tóibín’s “A Priest in the Family” 113 5.5 Silencing Loud Truths in Colm Tóibín’s “The Pearl Fishers” 116 5.6 Selling Morality in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s “Sex in the Context of Ireland” 123 5.7 Tailoring Abuse in Elaine Walsh’s “Midnight Blue” 130 5.8 Murdering Humanity in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s “Spool of Thread” 134 5.9 Shattering the Myth of the Nurturing Family in Claire Keegan’s “The Parting Gift” 137 5.10 Raising the Beloved Irish Child in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s “The Moon Shines Clear, the Horseman’s Here” 142 5.11 Conforming to Social Expectations in Mary Costello’s “The Sewing Room” 150 5.12 Finding a Sense of Freedom in Single Motherhood in Claire Keegan’s “Quare Name for a Boy” 156 5.13 Rebelling Against the Multi-Layered System of Patriarchy in Claire Keegan’s “Men and Women” 158 5.14 Blowing Dreams and Tulips in Anne Enright’s “Yesterday’s Weather” 162 5.15 Questioning Social Progress in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s “Wuff, Wuff, Wuff for De Valera!” 164 5.16 Emigrating Dreams in Emma Donoghue’s “Counting the Days” 168 5.17 Starving Identity and Humanity in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s “Summer Pudding” 173 5.18 Discussing the Shapes of Alienation and Misery in Kevin Barry’s “Doctor Sot” 179 5.19 Dining On Irish Spuds and Recalling Past and Present Famines Elsewhere in Roddy Doyle’s “Guess Who’s Coming for ... 182 5.20 Refugeeing Childhood in Roddy Doyle’s “New Boy” 185 5.21 Measuring the Levels of Irishness in Roddy Doyle’s “57% Irish” 188 5.22 Playing the Songs of Multiculturalism in Roddy Doyle’s “The Deportees” 191 5.23 Feeding the Other With Crumbs of Love and Respect in Gerard Donovan’s “The Summer of Birds” 193 5.24 Going Glamorous and Cosmopolite in Kevin Barry’s “Party at Helen’s” 197 5.25 Demystifying Old and New Myths of Irish Society in Kevin Barry’s “Ideal Homes” 201 5.26 Making the Misery of Rural Ireland Glitter in Kevin Barry’s “Animal Needs” 205 Notes 207 6 Concluding the Story 216 Notes 224 References 225 Index 244 Irish,Short,Stories;,Celtic,Tiger,Ireland;,Post,Celtic,Tiger,Ireland;,Economic,development;,Economic,crisis;,Contemporary,Fiction;,Reality;,Humanity;,Society;,Irish,culture Irish Short Stories,Celtic Tiger Ireland,Post Celtic Tiger Ireland,Economic development,Economic crisis,Contemporary Fiction,Reality,Humanity,Society,Irish culture