Nightlines

by John McGahern

extremely rare,very good condition

Genres: Short Stories, Irish Literature, 20th Century, Ireland

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

McGahern began his career as a schoolteacher at Scoil Eoin Báiste (Belgrove) primary school in Clontarf, Ireland, where, for a period, he taught the eminent academic Declan Kiberd before turning to writing full-time. McGahern's second novel 'The Dark' was banned in Ireland for its alleged pornographic content and implied clerical sexual abuse. In the controversy over this he was forced to resign his teaching post. He subsequently moved to England where he worked in a variety of jobs before returning to Ireland to live and work on a small farm in Fenagh in County Leitrim, located halfway between Ballinamore and Mohill. His third novel 'Amongst Women' was shortlisted for the 1990 Man Booker Prize.
He died from cancer in Dublin on March 30, 2006.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of stories.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insane

[Mike Bessant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tour de force of (very) short stories from one of Ireland's best. This is no longer in print. Mine is an old panther paperback which I can vividly recall my (now deceased) mother reading back in 1976 and laughing as she read out one of the lines to me:
. . He carried the saw and sawn lengths into the shed, scattering the white sawdust wide into the grass with his boot. Then he farted. 'A great release that into the evening, thank God,' he sighed, as he waited for the aroma of the decomposing porter he'd drunk in Henry's after the auction to lift to his nostrils....

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Wheels
Why we're here
Coming into his kingdom
Christmas --2
Hearts of oak and bellies of brass
Strandhill, the sea
Bomb box
*Korea
Lavin
My love, my umbrella
Peaches
The recruiting officer
***
All sorts of impossible things
Bank holiday
The beginning of an idea
Creatures of the earth
High ground
The key
The wine breath