‘Sparing The Heather’ by Louise Kennedy

This is the best kind of story. Emotionally complex and rich, with a simmering political backdrop, it is understated and seething with subtext. I came to this piece though a session at the Word Factory, and then went on to rip through the rest of Louise Kennedy’s work, including her fantastic novel Trespasses.

‘Sparing the Heather’ is set in Ireland near the border with the north, where the Troubles inform everything. The sense of place is impeccable, the description creates a doom-laden atmosphere, as the main character nearly treads on “a crow from an earlier cull, squeaking with maggots”. The characters are deftly skewered: the Englishman Hugh who “only ate meat he had killed himself”, and Brendan, his fingers tapping to the “those dreary pipe solos he liked to listen to”. An excellent read.

First published in Banshee Press Issue #8, spring/summer 2019, and available to read here; collected in Kennedy’s collection The End of the World is a Cul De Sac, Bloomsbury, 2021

‘In Silhouette’ by Louise Kennedy

Louise Kennedy is the writer everyone wants to write like. I read her short stories first then devoured her novel, Trespasses, when it was published last year. Another Irish writer, Louise Kennedy came to writing late but absolutely flew once she started. She writes about love, marriage, sex, death and everything in between with dark wit and acute observations.

One of the most haunting stories in her debut collection is ‘In Silhouette’. Over a lifetime viewed in pieces, a sister hoards clippings and images relating to a soldier whom her late brother had helped abduct and kill. It stays with you.

First published in The End of the Road is a Cul-de-Sac, Bloomsbury 2020