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In White Ink
Darkly disturbing meditations on motherhood by an exceptional Irish writer.
Motherhood, nurture and violence - these are the themes of Elske Rahill's remarkable first collection. In White Ink. Rahill brings to life the psychological and physical reality of mothering, pregnancy and childbirth in ways that few other writers have attempted. Here is a biting realism, in the relations between men and women and in the expectations and failures of their assigned roles.
'Rahill has a keen sense of the varieties of sexual desire, of social inequality, grief and a withering eye for the ridiculous... her stories will kiss you soodnight and then give you nightmares." Irish Independent
'The challenging nature of relationships and motherhood are examined in this exquisite, savagely honest collection... Bleak, but acutely insightful.' Daily Mail
'Rahill's stories fearlessly, nakedly, crash into the darker sides of real life.' Irish Times, Books of the Year
Motherhood, nurture and violence - these are the themes of Elske Rahill's remarkable first collection. In White Ink. Rahill brings to life the psychological and physical reality of mothering, pregnancy and childbirth in ways that few other writers have attempted. Here is a biting realism, in the relations between men and women and in the expectations and failures of their assigned roles.
'Rahill has a keen sense of the varieties of sexual desire, of social inequality, grief and a withering eye for the ridiculous... her stories will kiss you soodnight and then give you nightmares." Irish Independent
'The challenging nature of relationships and motherhood are examined in this exquisite, savagely honest collection... Bleak, but acutely insightful.' Daily Mail
'Rahill's stories fearlessly, nakedly, crash into the darker sides of real life.' Irish Times, Books of the Year
296 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2018
10 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Elske Rahill
8 books13 followersELSKE RAHILL grew up in Dublin and lives in Burgundy, France, with her partner and children. Her first novel. She is the author of Between Dog and Wolf, published by The Lilliput Press in 2013 and the collection of short stories In White Ink, published by Head of Zeus in 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 13, 2017
Beautiful shocking book that puts motherhood under a dangerous sunlamp so that only the reader gets burned. I couldn't stop thinking of these short stories after reading them. Wonderful writer.
August 11, 2020
Fresh, vivid: '.. sleeping in your buggy with buttery thighs and feet like handkerchief knots'. But these stories are also as tough as nails, dealing with a wife discovering her husband is a paedophile, the tribulations of motherhood, a novel and drastic way to get rid of dog fleas, or a respected family exposed as former Nazis. One or two of them were not to my taste (one set in the future) but all the others were gripping and intense. Recommended.
February 10, 2018
3.7
The titular short story will haunt you long past closing the book. I really liked that the book portrayed the less palatable, less written-about sides of female psyche (as seen in 'Toby'). I didn't like the longest story in the collection, Right to reply. It seemed to have no real arc and the protagonist appeared to have been written to be unlikeable on purpose, which is fine, except it felt like that author did this almost as a challenge to herself rather than it adding anything to the narrative. 'Tasteless' is an interesting but incomplete story of two parents at a wedding. Indeed in all stories (except the first two in the collection) I got the sense of something unfinished. Perhaps this is intentional to keep you wanting more but ultimately it left me unsatisfied. There is some beautiful writing in here but overall the book fell a little short for me anyway of the high praise I had heard it receive.
The titular short story will haunt you long past closing the book. I really liked that the book portrayed the less palatable, less written-about sides of female psyche (as seen in 'Toby'). I didn't like the longest story in the collection, Right to reply. It seemed to have no real arc and the protagonist appeared to have been written to be unlikeable on purpose, which is fine, except it felt like that author did this almost as a challenge to herself rather than it adding anything to the narrative. 'Tasteless' is an interesting but incomplete story of two parents at a wedding. Indeed in all stories (except the first two in the collection) I got the sense of something unfinished. Perhaps this is intentional to keep you wanting more but ultimately it left me unsatisfied. There is some beautiful writing in here but overall the book fell a little short for me anyway of the high praise I had heard it receive.
July 7, 2019
I had high hopes for this book based on reviews and having read the first few pages in a book shop. At times, the writing was extremely good and very evocative - I loved the description of the rooting baby in The White Ink for example. The writing was described as “feminist” in one blurb I read, but as I got further into the book, this description began to seem more and more incongruous. In fact, I began to feel it was increasingly more misogynist in fact. None of the characters are likable - they are mad, or violent, or helpless, or racist (in the most irritating story)...I felt they were grotesque and dark “types”, not fully developed three-dimensional people. I found the stories oppressive and depressing - and in the case of The Wife - nastily satirical. Perhaps I missed the point, but this book didn’t fulfill the promise of its own cover hype, in my opinion. I was sadly disappointed.
April 17, 2018
What a powerful and immersive collection of stories. so intense and poetic.
November 20, 2021
*Only read the short story "In White Ink".
Lo que me ha hecho sentir esta historia corta ha sido increíblemente hermoso y doloroso. Sin duda cuando pueda me voy a leer toda la colección.
Lo que me ha hecho sentir esta historia corta ha sido increíblemente hermoso y doloroso. Sin duda cuando pueda me voy a leer toda la colección.
June 23, 2018
A thought provoking collection of short stories all on the theme of marriage and motherhood. The stories are all set in contemporary Ireland. Like most collections of short stories, some are stronger than others. Elske Rahill writes well and crafts a good story.
The first story 'Toby,' has great characterisation and is one of the darkest Gothic stories in the book. It reminded me of one of Roald Dahl's 'Tales of the Unexpected.' (Warning - Perhaps don't read this if you are a dog lover or have a pet dog!)
The titular story had a very victimised heroine who never showed strength and ability to stand up for herself. She was treated dreadfully and I think this may have been more of a story with a political message.
The 'Bride' story was based on a story from the 'Dubliners.' This tale was, I feel one of the most light hearted in the book as it focused on snobbery.
Overall, a good read.
The first story 'Toby,' has great characterisation and is one of the darkest Gothic stories in the book. It reminded me of one of Roald Dahl's 'Tales of the Unexpected.' (Warning - Perhaps don't read this if you are a dog lover or have a pet dog!)
The titular story had a very victimised heroine who never showed strength and ability to stand up for herself. She was treated dreadfully and I think this may have been more of a story with a political message.
The 'Bride' story was based on a story from the 'Dubliners.' This tale was, I feel one of the most light hearted in the book as it focused on snobbery.
Overall, a good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2018
A stunning book of vivid short stories, which explore motherhood, marriage, and loss. A moving and, at times, difficult read.
May 9, 2022
Κριτική στα Ελληνικά πιο κάτω...
Some of those stories felt familiar to me. I'm sure it's the first time I read this book, but maybe some of those were published elsewhere too? Not sure. Anyway, as it usually happens with collections, I liked some of them more than others.
I think the author is quite skilled and her writing style often changes to adapt the "ambiance" of each story. But reading the blurb, I expected something different. Without writing spoilers here, of course there are women who are depressed, repressed and limited by society and by other people's expectations and even by their own selves, of course there are women who are illusioned or disillusioned or paranoid, of course there is violence and abuse and accidents and tragedies happening on this world, of course there are women who are unlucky or face hardships or feel uneasy in their own life and skin... But there are women who have self-respect or are lucky or form healthy relationships with their family and lovers and have a healthy self-image and life and there are women who are very dynamic and independent and women who lead a happy/healthy life and so on...
In this collection, we get to see only the dark side, there is the usual melancholy and darkness of most Irish authors and not much redeeming quality or hopeful tone. I got a bit tired of all these suffocating and bleak stories. Maybe I got the wrong impression from the synopsis on the back cover, but the psychological and physical reality of mothering, pregnancy and childbirth and the relations between men and women are necessarily a never-ending darkness and self-awareness and sacrifice and torture? Why so much pessimism?
Κάποιες ιστορίες μου έμοιαζαν γνωστές, δεν ξέρω αν έχουν εκδοθεί σε κάποια συλλογή ή κάτι, διότι νομίζω ότι είναι η πρώτη φορά που διαβάζω το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο. Όπως συμβαίνει συνήθως με τις συλλογές ιστοριών, κάποιες μου άρεσαν περισσότερο από άλλες.
Το ύφος της συγγραφέα αλλάζει ανάλογα με την ιστορία και είναι αρκετά καλό. Ωστόσο νομίζω ότι η περίληψη του βιβλίου σε προετοίμαζε για κάτι λίγο διαφορετικό και πιο πολυποίκιλο. Χωρίς να θέλω να γράψω spoilers, σαφέστατα και υπάρχουν οι καταστάσεις και η διαστρεβλωμένη σκέψη που διέπει κάποιες γυναίκες, σαφώς και υπάρχουν δυσκολίες και καταπίεση που επιβάλει η κοινωνία ή ακόμα και οι ίδιες οι γυναίκες στον εαυτό τους, σαφώς και υπάρχουν τραγικά δυστυχήματα ή κακοποίηση ή βία κάθε είδους κτλ, σαφώς και υπάρχουν γυναίκες που ποτέ δεν αισθάνονται άνετα με τον εαυτό τους ή που κλείνονται στον δικό τους κόσμο ή εξαρτώνται νοσηρά από πρόσωπα και καταστάσεις κτλ κτλ... όμως υπάρχνουν και δυναμικές γυναίκες, και γυναίκες που έχουν υγιείς σχέσεις, που αισθάνονται άνετα με τον εαυτό τους και έχουν μία καλή ζωή.
Σε αυτή τη συλλογή έχουμε λίγο πολύ τη γνωστή μελαγχολία και μαυρίλα που είναι αγαπητή σε πολλούς Ιρλανδούς συγγραφείς και ελάχιστες έως καθόλου ακτίδες φωτός μέσα στο σκοτάδι. Κάπου η συλλογή με κούρασε, ίσως γιατί περίμενα κάτι άλλο. Τόσο απαισιοδοξία πια;
Some of those stories felt familiar to me. I'm sure it's the first time I read this book, but maybe some of those were published elsewhere too? Not sure. Anyway, as it usually happens with collections, I liked some of them more than others.
I think the author is quite skilled and her writing style often changes to adapt the "ambiance" of each story. But reading the blurb, I expected something different. Without writing spoilers here, of course there are women who are depressed, repressed and limited by society and by other people's expectations and even by their own selves, of course there are women who are illusioned or disillusioned or paranoid, of course there is violence and abuse and accidents and tragedies happening on this world, of course there are women who are unlucky or face hardships or feel uneasy in their own life and skin... But there are women who have self-respect or are lucky or form healthy relationships with their family and lovers and have a healthy self-image and life and there are women who are very dynamic and independent and women who lead a happy/healthy life and so on...
In this collection, we get to see only the dark side, there is the usual melancholy and darkness of most Irish authors and not much redeeming quality or hopeful tone. I got a bit tired of all these suffocating and bleak stories. Maybe I got the wrong impression from the synopsis on the back cover, but the psychological and physical reality of mothering, pregnancy and childbirth and the relations between men and women are necessarily a never-ending darkness and self-awareness and sacrifice and torture? Why so much pessimism?
Κάποιες ιστορίες μου έμοιαζαν γνωστές, δεν ξέρω αν έχουν εκδοθεί σε κάποια συλλογή ή κάτι, διότι νομίζω ότι είναι η πρώτη φορά που διαβάζω το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο. Όπως συμβαίνει συνήθως με τις συλλογές ιστοριών, κάποιες μου άρεσαν περισσότερο από άλλες.
Το ύφος της συγγραφέα αλλάζει ανάλογα με την ιστορία και είναι αρκετά καλό. Ωστόσο νομίζω ότι η περίληψη του βιβλίου σε προετοίμαζε για κάτι λίγο διαφορετικό και πιο πολυποίκιλο. Χωρίς να θέλω να γράψω spoilers, σαφέστατα και υπάρχουν οι καταστάσεις και η διαστρεβλωμένη σκέψη που διέπει κάποιες γυναίκες, σαφώς και υπάρχουν δυσκολίες και καταπίεση που επιβάλει η κοινωνία ή ακόμα και οι ίδιες οι γυναίκες στον εαυτό τους, σαφώς και υπάρχουν τραγικά δυστυχήματα ή κακοποίηση ή βία κάθε είδους κτλ, σαφώς και υπάρχουν γυναίκες που ποτέ δεν αισθάνονται άνετα με τον εαυτό τους ή που κλείνονται στον δικό τους κόσμο ή εξαρτώνται νοσηρά από πρόσωπα και καταστάσεις κτλ κτλ... όμως υπάρχνουν και δυναμικές γυναίκες, και γυναίκες που έχουν υγιείς σχέσεις, που αισθάνονται άνετα με τον εαυτό τους και έχουν μία καλή ζωή.
Σε αυτή τη συλλογή έχουμε λίγο πολύ τη γνωστή μελαγχολία και μαυρίλα που είναι αγαπητή σε πολλούς Ιρλανδούς συγγραφείς και ελάχιστες έως καθόλου ακτίδες φωτός μέσα στο σκοτάδι. Κάπου η συλλογή με κούρασε, ίσως γιατί περίμενα κάτι άλλο. Τόσο απαισιοδοξία πια;
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June 15, 2022DNF lost interest
Hmm first short story collection I've picked up in a while, it just happened to catch my eye in the library. Unfortunately, while I will say that the 2nd story In White Ink was actually pretty good( it was very reminiscent of the Sylvia Plath poem Morning Song, and it was a solid piece of work in how the story developed and whatnot--- id say if you pick this up you can just read this one and be done with it)the other stories were not enough to sustain my interest.
The themes and story ideas here are actually pretty good--- there is a good variance of plotlines and interesting approaches that I was impressed by(the first story was quite an unexpected read in a good way). However, the issue lies in how many of these stories seem to not be fully realised, hindering the communication of themes and ideas to the reader. The interesting premises were enough to grasp my initial attention, but as the story went on, I lost interest simply due to the failure to fully develop these ideas. Quite disappointing because there was a lot of potential in my opinion, it just felt like reading a first draft.
Hmm first short story collection I've picked up in a while, it just happened to catch my eye in the library. Unfortunately, while I will say that the 2nd story In White Ink was actually pretty good( it was very reminiscent of the Sylvia Plath poem Morning Song, and it was a solid piece of work in how the story developed and whatnot--- id say if you pick this up you can just read this one and be done with it)the other stories were not enough to sustain my interest.
The themes and story ideas here are actually pretty good--- there is a good variance of plotlines and interesting approaches that I was impressed by(the first story was quite an unexpected read in a good way). However, the issue lies in how many of these stories seem to not be fully realised, hindering the communication of themes and ideas to the reader. The interesting premises were enough to grasp my initial attention, but as the story went on, I lost interest simply due to the failure to fully develop these ideas. Quite disappointing because there was a lot of potential in my opinion, it just felt like reading a first draft.
January 1, 2022
I’m not a huge fan of short stories, but if I do read them I like them at least to have an ending. These don’t and I feel like I’ve been left dangling. The writing itself is excellent but I found the collection very unfulfilling.
June 17, 2023
so depressing + dark tbh
October 16, 2024
I really enjoyed the way it was written.I think everyone should at least give it a try!
November 14, 2024
destroyed me
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews