Emerald Underground

by Michael Collins

The breakthorugh novel from a prodigiously gifted young Irish writer. April, 1981. New York. A young Irishman, Liam is in hiding, waiting until the dreadful act in which he has had to participate becomes public knowledge, forced to keep it a secret because he is an illegal immigrant. In this, his 2nd novel, Michael Collins writes his characteristic rawness and anger about the Irish in 80's America, as he gives the lie to notion that they were that country's favourite sons' but also, in a novel of maturity and rare beauty, he brings a new poignancy to our understanding of the emigrant experience and of the loneliness of not belonging

Genres: Fiction

234 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(1)Irish Novelist

Michael Collins was born in 1964. He was educated in Belfast, Dublin and Chicago. His short stories have been awarded the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Award in Ireland and the Pushcart Prize in America.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Liam, a fallen angel, who begins his "career" in his designated purgatory: a crappy hotel in New Jersey's chemical belt no man's land. From there, begins a grubby and cosmic road trip featuring a collection of other displaced and misguided characters.

I'm glad i stuck with this novel; I had picked it up thinking it would be a funny read (maybe it was the cover that gave me that idea: a funky little terrier sporting a little green cowboy hat and matching vest while playing pinball)and by the end of the first chapter, I was lost and not laughing , but intrigued. So I had another go at it (concentrating a bit more this time) and then the story began to gel into something more than just a rambunctious road trip. Sure, there's humour (dark), but I think it's essentially a novel about displacement and falling out of grace, written in a vibrant and frenetic (thus kind of hard to follow at times) style.

As Liam might say: Jasus, that's a dacent piece of writing!

[Bc219 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The occasional dark humor, depth of thought and emotion, along with the author's keen use of metaphors always kept me wanting more of Liam, Angel and Sandy. This book spoke to me in ways that others have not - perhaps that feeling had to do with the fact that it was suggested to me during the beginning of a major change in my life, or more likely, it was just brilliantly written.

[Rachel Rosenstock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of immigration story than what we see most commonly today, but moving all the same. I loved the way Collins portrayed the Irish as a transient, almost malleable people, even in modern times. Liam's journey as an illegal alien in America and cast-off of Ireland was devastating, horrifying at times but made for a page-turner.

[Ian Mapp · Rating 2 out of 5]

read a few michael collins lately and this is easily the poorest - but as it is one of his early works, then maybe this isn't a major problem.

Its tells the story of Liam, a recent immigrant into america. He is running away from his family and from a crime that he committed which involved a bit of granny bashing.

He hooks up with a 16 year old pregnant prostitute, her unhinged boyfriend and eventually a group of trailor trash drop outs.

Not much happens, but he does end up redeeming himself by winning a bizarre running race against a relay team and getting sponsorship into the country.

Nothing much else happens - little tension or humour and the whole thing became a bit of a chore, if the truth is told.

Won't put me off future works.

[Mireille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A breath of fresh air when I read anything by this Author!