Here Comes John

by Bridget O'Connor

These stories offer a mixture of despair, hope and humour. Themes of love, friendship and loss run through this collection, giving a sense of the contemporary lives of ordinary people. The author's work has previously appeared in "The Picador Book of Contemporary Irish Fiction."

Genres: Short Stories

169 pages, Hardcover

First published July 27, 1993

Reviews

[Michela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here Comes John is a collection 18 stories (some just a few pages long), bearing themes of love, friendship and loss in the lives of ordinary people, written by Bridget O'Connor.
My favorite stories:
- Kissing time
- Here comes John
- Ursula's Room
- Bones
I didn't enjoy all stories, but most of them were quite good. Interesting writing style, sometimes delicate and sometimes wickedly funny... definitely unique.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, loved this - more later…
I read about her recently, she had a posthumous story collection out, sounded good so checked the library and they had this one, her first from 1993, last taken out over 20 years ago. Excellent stories, lively, funny, sad, joyous. Stories of drunks and adolescents and disappointed lovers where the prose kept up with their veering thoughts and lifestyles. In the article about her she is quoted -‘ I have a ten page span and then I collapse under the weight of it.’
Here’s a random bit:
‘The motor coughs in a throat of purple trees. Cardboard L plates. The windows and windscreen are creamed with flies. On the back window someone has written OH KILL ME in grime. Here’s me: *This* I think has been one A class day. ‘
Such a shame she died so young (age 49 in 2010).

[Nicole Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short-stories on the topics of love and loss, experienced by Irish people at home and abroad.
This gave real 90s vibes, but it's a shame there isn't a lot about it online. I would have loved to see other people's interpretations of this collection.