Les Âmes égarées

by Joseph O'Connor, Carine Chichereau (Translator)

Deuxième recueil de nouvelles de Joseph O’Connor, après Les Bons Chrétiens paru chez Libretto en 2010 et préfacé par Hugo Hamilton, Les Âmes égarées se compose de sept nouvelles et d’une novella qui traduisent l’essence d’une Irlande à la fois éternelle et contemporaine. Sombres, et soudain lumineuses, elles parlent de solitude, de désespoir, mais aussi de foi en l’avenir et en l’homme, d’amitié et d’amour, sentiments que l’auteur analyse et décrit en maître.
Ralliant le Londres et le Dublin d’aujourd’hui au New York du XIXe siècle, tantôt avec ironie, tantôt avec la plus grande simplicité, les nouvelles de Joseph O’Connor incarnent les rêveurs et les âmes perdues de notre monde dans ces moments magiques de la vie où tout semble possible.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Irish Literature, Contemporary, Book Club, Literary Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2008

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes , The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls , as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction.

He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York.

Reviews

[Kinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the rhythm of Joseph O'Connor's writing. There is something soothing about it, the rise and the fall of the sentences across the page (or, in my case, read to me on the audiobook). Orchard Street, Dawn stood out as a favourite for me in this collection of short stories and a novella. I was less keen on the novella as it felt like another story about a faded man, disappointed with his life and himself.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a love hate relationship with this book. It contains 7 short stories and also a novella made up of 8 short chapters. I like O'Connor best when he writes historical fiction and loved the short story 'Orchard Street: Dawn'. I also liked 'The Wexford Girl'. Each of these was fresh, unique, insightful and engaging. The central character in most of the other stories seems to me to be the same man just with a different name - a sad, emotionally derelict, passive man with a failed marriage, an 'absent' mother and various permutations of a 'significant' father floating in and out of the story. By the time I got to the novella,I had little patience or empathy left for its main character - same as above.... In many ways I would prefer if O'Connor had written a good long novel about that man, got him out of his system and then presented a collection of short stories whose range did better justice to his great skill and wit. Still kept me reading to the end though..

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought I would read this as a direct contrast to Margaret Drabble already I love O'Connor's vernacular. More anon. This is a storyteller in the Irish tradition right enough. The stories set in Dublin, London and New York are full of romance and hardship, love and loss. O'Conner is a passionate lyrical author and there are descriptive passages of terrible beauty. The stories are also full of empathy , humour and connection. Whilst Drabble's were drab and self absorbed O'Connor's are flamboyant, joyous and universal. Highly recommended

[Mary Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are often quite sad stories mainly about men, their emotions, relationships and loneliness. The descriptions of the Irish psyche are excellent and the conversations leap off the page as if you are there yourself. Very good read.

[Lysil · Rating 2 out of 5]

quelques passages émouvants mais ça parle quand-même trop d'histoires de fesses à mon goût

[Marion Husband · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very very depressing.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the stories and the writing but for some reason I didn’t rush to pick it up to read the next story. May have scored higher if read at a different time.

[Joanne Parkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, by far, one of the most beautiful collection of short stories i have ever had the pleasure of reading. It's elegant & delicate with the stories pulling you in from the first page. The best is Orchard Street, Dawn which is poignantly bleak and desolately sad and is sure to bring a lump to your throat. A lovely read.

[Derek Bridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie Virago doesn't deserve another outing but O'Connor's comic creation is before us again in the opening story of this collection. But this misstep aside, the rest of this collection is a poignant pleasure. There is something so sad at the heart of most of these pieces: bereavement and mis-communication interwoven.

[incipit mania]

Incipit

Non lo vedevo da vent’anni o più. E adesso eccolo qui, nell’opulenza delle sue carni, dietro la vetrina luccicante di un’agenzia immobiliare in Fownes Street, un’allucinazione in maniche di camicia e calzoni eleganti spiegazzati....
Dove sei stato incipitmania.com

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is beautifully written, but I fear that some of the stories lack individual definition. Therefore the effect can be quite repetitive. There are some cracking moments in it, notably The Wexford Girl.

[Marie-Paule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prachtig prosa. Een verhaal van weemoed zoals alleen Ieren dat kunnen schrijven. Vooral het laatste hoofdstuk 'Requiem' is magnifiek.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moments of brilliance amid unnecessary crudity. I won't be rushing back to O'Connor.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is excellent . A really good read

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a short story collection and really enjoyed this one. Very well written and engaging.

[Kristen Luppino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing sorry based out of the Tenament museum in the East Side of NYC. The Irish story.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you: http://www.indiebound.org

[Anette · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/i...

[Jmulderg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klein boekje, nederlandse vertaling gelezen. Met titel "Alles goed?"