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It's The Stars Will Be Our Lamps
What readers say about Alan Walsh's debut:
5/5 STARS "So human, so funny. - G, O. Houlahan
5/5 STARS "It was funny and terrifying, and talked a lot about how the world is today, even though the story itself is hundreds of years old. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone! - javajo
It's Monday morning, and Conall Donoghue hasn't a paper to read while he crams hot porridge into his oul yap. The paperboy will have to be found!
So begins Conall's quest to find where Declan Mac Neassa and his brother Cormac have disappeared to, taking him on a journey to meet the worst weirdos and vagabonds in the wild little town of Bally. To learn about Fierce Dee O'Loughin and on to the secret at the heart of the whole town, threatening to tear it all to bits.
A modern retelling of the ancient Irish fable 'Deirdre of the Sorrows', we follow Dee as she tries to break free of her father's hold, running away with a pair of local lads, her crow, and her diary. We follow Conall as his chase to find the paperboy turns into a quest to find his killer, meeting modern versions of the Morrigan, The Fianna and Cuchulainn, to name just a few. And we follow me, a drunken local Puca, hidden away, disguised safely so I can tell it all to yourselves!
5/5 STARS "So human, so funny. - G, O. Houlahan
5/5 STARS "It was funny and terrifying, and talked a lot about how the world is today, even though the story itself is hundreds of years old. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone! - javajo
It's Monday morning, and Conall Donoghue hasn't a paper to read while he crams hot porridge into his oul yap. The paperboy will have to be found!
So begins Conall's quest to find where Declan Mac Neassa and his brother Cormac have disappeared to, taking him on a journey to meet the worst weirdos and vagabonds in the wild little town of Bally. To learn about Fierce Dee O'Loughin and on to the secret at the heart of the whole town, threatening to tear it all to bits.
A modern retelling of the ancient Irish fable 'Deirdre of the Sorrows', we follow Dee as she tries to break free of her father's hold, running away with a pair of local lads, her crow, and her diary. We follow Conall as his chase to find the paperboy turns into a quest to find his killer, meeting modern versions of the Morrigan, The Fianna and Cuchulainn, to name just a few. And we follow me, a drunken local Puca, hidden away, disguised safely so I can tell it all to yourselves!
- GenresIrelandIrish Literature
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2013
2 people are currently reading
447 people want to read
About the author
Alan Walsh
13 books66 followersI was born in Dublin and studied art in IADT. I left Ireland after graduating and lived in Italy for a few years, teaching and writing. After that I moved to London and returned here in 2010.
I've had stories published in The Moth, The Bohemyth, Outburst and Wordlegs and non fiction articles in Magill Magazine, Film Ireland and Three Monkeys.
My novel, Sour, is available now on amazon
I've had stories published in The Moth, The Bohemyth, Outburst and Wordlegs and non fiction articles in Magill Magazine, Film Ireland and Three Monkeys.
My novel, Sour, is available now on amazon
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 23, 2013
I thought this book was really great. It reminded me a whole lot of a couple of short animated films called 'Pulling the devil by the tail' which dealt with small town rural ireland in a hokey but warm way and this was pretty similar.
The characters are great fun, though, each one is carved from a vague reference to someone in an old Irish tale ( and I had to look up a few to get the references...) but they were entertaining and funny and, when it mattered, hard hitting.
The book pokes fun at quite a few bastions of Irish society too, which is great. People have a habit of doing that a lot now but not near as entertainingly.
In short, five stars. It's a high rating but I enjoyed it almost more than anything else I've read this year.
The characters are great fun, though, each one is carved from a vague reference to someone in an old Irish tale ( and I had to look up a few to get the references...) but they were entertaining and funny and, when it mattered, hard hitting.
The book pokes fun at quite a few bastions of Irish society too, which is great. People have a habit of doing that a lot now but not near as entertainingly.
In short, five stars. It's a high rating but I enjoyed it almost more than anything else I've read this year.
December 13, 2013
Great story, and probably even more so if you're familiar with Deirde of the Sorrows. Loved the writing style as well. Enjoyed it!
July 12, 2016
In a scattered story narrated by a Puca (a mythical being capable of shape-shifting, invisibility, seeing the future, and being in multiple places at the same time - reminds me a bit of Q), the mystery of a local murder carries Conall Donoghue on a long trek across the countryside and back again.
I say scattered because the Puca wants to tell us about each character it feels is relevant to the story, including the ghost of a man who wrecked his own car in a drunken rush across town. Each of the characters is connected to Conall in some way, whether he knows them personally or not. An intricate tapestry of relationships is woven with each chapter.
At times, these relationships feel cumbersome and confusing, but eventually the purpose is revealed. However, being bogged down in the looping, uneven weave causes the book to drag at times, which forced me to abandon it for several days at a time until I regained my fortitude to carry on.
Worth reading, but be sure to allow adequate time for re-reading to capture some of the nuances of the story.
I say scattered because the Puca wants to tell us about each character it feels is relevant to the story, including the ghost of a man who wrecked his own car in a drunken rush across town. Each of the characters is connected to Conall in some way, whether he knows them personally or not. An intricate tapestry of relationships is woven with each chapter.
At times, these relationships feel cumbersome and confusing, but eventually the purpose is revealed. However, being bogged down in the looping, uneven weave causes the book to drag at times, which forced me to abandon it for several days at a time until I regained my fortitude to carry on.
Worth reading, but be sure to allow adequate time for re-reading to capture some of the nuances of the story.
December 23, 2013
I picked this up as I was already reading three ( yes three ! ) other books and one by one I laid them all down and let this one take over. It's just so easy to read, so nourishing, so much fun and so terrible at the end ( not to give anything away ).
I was definitely a fan of seeing a strong female character in a story like this, then I went back and read up on the original myth of Deirdre and found she was definitely a strong character herself too. ( in fact Irish tales have plenty of these... it was all just drummed out of me in school along with so much else ) .
I definitely advise people to read this. It's Irish, pure Irish. I come from a small town and saw lots of patterns I recognise all through it. This may not be a good thing as regards my town but how and ever!
I was definitely a fan of seeing a strong female character in a story like this, then I went back and read up on the original myth of Deirdre and found she was definitely a strong character herself too. ( in fact Irish tales have plenty of these... it was all just drummed out of me in school along with so much else ) .
I definitely advise people to read this. It's Irish, pure Irish. I come from a small town and saw lots of patterns I recognise all through it. This may not be a good thing as regards my town but how and ever!
February 11, 2014
Worth my time. And that's high praise from me. If you look at my other book reviews, you'll notice that they're all highly rated. You know why? Because at 50 years of age there's one very important thing I've learned in life, and that is that my time is too valuable to be wasted on bad fiction or any other boring pursuit. Same reason I don't always eat all my peas. Or crochet. This book was wonderful. Hooked me straight in and never let me get bored for a minute. Definitely deserving of my attention and the five stars.
July 17, 2014
Really liked this tale. I'll post a real review shortly...
This story was unlike anything I've ever read before. One, because it was sooooo Irish (in prose, mannerisms, etc), and two, because it was really quite creepy, but not scary at all, at the same time. Does that make sense? It's not supposed to!
Great read, it really kept me going, wondering what had happened to the Mac Neasa boys, and to poor Dee. By the end, I'd drawn a few conclusions about that myself (not sure how right or wrong they were), but I found I couldn't put it down.
This story was unlike anything I've ever read before. One, because it was sooooo Irish (in prose, mannerisms, etc), and two, because it was really quite creepy, but not scary at all, at the same time. Does that make sense? It's not supposed to!
Great read, it really kept me going, wondering what had happened to the Mac Neasa boys, and to poor Dee. By the end, I'd drawn a few conclusions about that myself (not sure how right or wrong they were), but I found I couldn't put it down.
December 23, 2013
A friend handed this to me in a bar. I found it a weird and wondrous book. The man has a turned imagination, that much is sure. I liked that, though. The characters are the exact weirdos you find in small country towns. They are familiar and yet strange. This is what I want from a book. I want it to to speak to me in a way I can understand and teach me the new. I am not a man of words. Thankfully this book painted pictures. People ought to read it.
December 23, 2013
Page one and two I thought were a little odd, I was advised to stick with it, though. I'm very glad I did. A tremendous read. Fun and escapist and deep and harrowing. Only after I learned it was the rewrite of a myth. Read read read! :)
December 23, 2013
I thought it was a quick, fun read. I'd say people should read it. It sounded sometimes like it was set in Cork actually, though I think it might not be. It was good to see a strong female character who's not a caricature too.
December 28, 2013
This was another commuter selection. A loan from a friend and I haven't returned it yet as I want to re-read it. I'm not 100% where in Ireland it's meant to be set, but it makes me want to do a tour of the place!
December 28, 2013
Found this little treasure in a second hand bookshop. It has some amazing characters. I think I actually recognise some of them. I also weirdly recognise the town from where I grew up. I wonder has Alan Walshe ever been there?
August 4, 2015
Well, I wrote it, so yeah I'm kinda biased!
December 28, 2013
Really great book. There should be more books like this to help young people know the old stories!
December 28, 2013
Really liked the characters. Kind of an eternal story. Captured beautiful girl runs away. I like how this one was different though.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews