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Rockin’
the Bronx On a rash quest to track down his girlfriend Mary; naïve Irishman Sean Kelly becomes embroiled in the hellish wasteland of the 1980s Bronx. He stays on, determined to uncover the reason behind the sudden change in Mary. But the only job available for an undocumented Paddy is hard labor, and the only solace is found in beer and music. They brought it all with them from Ireland: the music, dancing, drinking, and politics all came head-to-head with Latino culture in a battle for Bainbridge Avenue. An unsparing look at the inter-racial tensions that would lead to the flight of the Irish, while at the same time providing a tender snapshot of the glory days of Irish influence in the Bronx. A vibrant, colorful evocation of New York City in the watershed years through the eyes of four young illegal Irish immigrants, Rockin’ the Bronx captures the visceral realities of life and death in the beleaguered Irish heartland of Bainbridge Avenue. Faced with the excesses of the early 80s: drugs, AIDS, the Burning Bronx, and at home, the Troubles, Sean eventually emerges into manhood. Praise for Larry Kirwan’s previous work: “A realist tale of friendships neglected
and dreams deferred, featuring shockingly credible versions of personas
you know and love.”—Entertainment Weekly
February 2010, 5½ x 8½, 288 pages (Brandon) |
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The
Same River First novel in English translation by one of Estonia’s leading contemporary writers. A semi-autobiographical Bildungsroman, set in the early 1960s, it narrates the efforts of Kaplinski’s youthful alter ego to lose his innocence and attain sexual and mystical knowledge. The twenty-year-old protagonist finds an unofficial teacher in a retired theologian and poet who is out of favor with the communist authorities. After a summer spent in intellectual and erotic soul-searching, the sexual and political intrigues finally overlap, leading to a quasi-solution. KGB and university apparatchiks take a close interest in the teacher-disciple relation of the two poets. The student outgrows his mentor, who despite accusing the human race of puerility, turns out to be a big and jealous child himself. Translated from the Estonian by Susan Wilson. Of his
poetry:
April 2010, 5 x 8, 300 pages (Peter Owen) |
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An
Invitation to Dance This compelling, dramatic work of historical fiction recounts the astonishing life of Lola Montez, a daring young Irish woman who took on the role in life of a Spanish dancer. Set against the turbulent beginnings of the nineteenth century, this book is an epic novel that sweeps from the margins of Empire – Ireland and India – to its very heart, within the upper echelons of society in London and Europe. In beautifully written almost hypnotic prose she ushers us backstage and behind the headlines, to a cruel and sensual world of high stakes and shattered dreams. Marion Urch is a novelist and writer of short stories with credits for film, radio and television. Her first novel Violent Shadows (Headline Review) was published with critical success in 1996.
February 2010, 5½ x 8½, 320 pages (Brandon) |
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Girl
on a Bicycle Girl on a Bicycle is the first novel in the Irish Classics Series by Liberties Press. Written by poet, dramatist, and short story writer, Leland Bardwell, Girl on a Bicycle was her first foray into novel writing. Written in 1970s Ireland but set in the completely different world of 1940s Ireland, this novel merges the author’s own life story with that of her fictional world as a young Protestant woman negotiates life in the newly-founded Catholic Republic. Previously published by Irish Writers Co-operative, 1977. Praise
for her other work: “Bardwell portrays a marriage under the inevitable strain of old secrets coming to light.”—Irish Echo
February 2010, 5 x 8, 192 pages (Liberties) |
