3 Review(s)

An accomplished novelist, short story writer, and playwright, Richard Power (1928-1970) was most well-known for his 1969 novel The Hungry Grass. While many of his stories were published in the leading literary journals of the day, his premature death prevented his work from gaining the fame it deserved. Gathered together for the first time, Power's subtle and poignant stories capture the daily lives of urban and rural dwellers in Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century. Coming of age, the tensions between tradition and modernity, and romantic love are some of the themes in these beautifully vivid tales. Power explores the interiority of an Irish mother and the thorny navigation of an adolescent girl's coming of age with pathos and humor. This memorable collection, thoughtfully arranged and introduced by James MacKillop, gives new life to an undeservedly neglected writer for fans and scholars of the Irish short story tradition.