Young Skins

Barrett, Colin

4.02

2,163 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 150127757X ISBN 13: 9781501277573

Publisher: Audible Studios on Brilliance audio, 2015

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Winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award

Winner of the Guardian First Book Award

Winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature

A stunning introduction to a singular new voice in contemporary fiction.

Enter the small, rural town of Glanbeigh, a place whose fate took a downturn with the Celtic Tiger, a desolate spot where buffoonery and tension simmer and erupt, and booze-sodden boredom fills the corners of every pub and nightclub. Here, and in the towns beyond, the young live hard and wear the scars. Amongst them, there’s jilted Jimmy, whose best friend Tug is the terror of the town and Jimmy’s sole company in his search for the missing Clancy kid; Bat, a lovesick soul with a face like “a bowl of mashed up spuds” even before Nubbin Tansey’s boot kicked it in; and Arm, a young and desperate criminal whose destiny is shaped when he and his partner, Dympna, fail to carry out a job. In each story, a local voice delineates the grittiness of post boom Irish society. These are unforgettable characters rendered through silence, humor, and violence.

Told in Barrett’s vibrant, distinctive prose, Young Skins is an accomplished and irreverent debut from a brilliant writer.

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Review:

"Colin Barrett's sentences are lyrical and tough and smart, but there is something more here that makes him a really good writer. His stories are set in a familiar emotional landscape, but they give us endings that are new. What seems to be about sorrow and foreboding turns into an adventure, instead, in the tender art of the unexpected." (Anne Enright)

"Language, structure, style - Colin Barrett has all the weapons at his disposal, and how, and he has an intuitive sense for what a short story is, and what it can do." (Kevin Barry)

"Colin Barrett is a young man in the town of the short story, but it’s fair to say he has the run of the place. This is a joyously fine collection, crackling with energy and verve, fit for the back pocket of anyone who loves a good story well told." (Jon McGregor)

"Magnificent...A stunning debut... The timeless nature of each story means this collection can - and will - be read many years from now." (Sunday Times (Ireland))

"Incredible... Human violence, beauty, brilliance of language – this book reminds you of the massive things you can do in short fiction." (Evie Wyld)

Book Description:

A magnificent, critically acclaimed collection of stories from Ireland's most exciting young writer

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