Caroline E. Farrell's Blog, page 2
December 16, 2020
The Librarian’s Cellar: Boys Don’t Cry by Fíona Scarlett
Set in the soul of inner city Dublin, a family struggles with the lot of their circumstances and the wolf of criminal menace at their door. At the core are two brothers, one fading, the other lusting for an alternative life that they both deserve. Gritty. Devastating. This story will linger.
My thanks to Netgalley and Faber Books for the opportunity to read this ARC, due for publication in April, 2021.
November 27, 2020
Librarian’s Cellar: Some recommended reads…
WALKING WITH GHOSTS
A joy to read. Byrne’s memoir is beautifully told, his visual writing evoking laughter, but also profound sorrow through powerful and deeply personal reminiscence. Whether describing aspects of his childhood, his life in Ireland or his career adventures abroad, every experience is recounted with honesty, dignity, humility, and a riveting sense of place. My thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this book.
A GHOST IN THE THROAT
“Perhaps the past...
November 9, 2020
BOOMER TRUDY: A Short Story
Delighted to share a short story of mine, recently published by Epoque Press in the 7th Edition of their é-zine, on the theme of ‘Isolation’.
You can read BOOMER TRUDY alongside some other wonderful work, HERE
Feature Image is copyright of Epoque Press. 2020
July 3, 2020
The Librarian’s Cellar Recommended Reads 2020: Monstrous Souls by Rebecca Kelly
Ten years ago, Heidi survived a horrendously savage attack, during which her best friend was murdered and her little sister went missing. Amnesia has plagued her, but now, she is beginning to remember…
Monstrous Souls is a tough read in relation to the sexual abuse and trafficking of children, though it is extremely well handled by the author, Rebecca Kelly. A taut thriller, the reader journeys alongside Heidi as she discovers clues from her slowly re-emerging memories… and the truth that shock...
April 5, 2020
On Writing: It’s just you and the words
Unprecedented days. If youre struggling, youre not alone and you know what unless you are one of our magnificent and brave frontline/essential services workers, not afforded the option of self-isolating staying safe, healthy and sane are all that most of us need to concentrate on right now.
For the writers among us, productivity may have waned, which may also have us feeling a strange kind of guilt, so I thought Id share this Facebook post from 2011:
This was a much appreciated break in...
March 31, 2020
The Librarian’s Cellar Books 2020: Actress by Anne Enright
Katherine ODell is an Irish theatre legend. As her daughter Norah retraces her mothers celebrated career and bohemian life, she delves into long-kept secrets, both her mothers and her own.
The narrator, Norah is a writer. In order to make meaning of her own experiences (the ghost in my blood) she remembers her mothers life and career. A tumultuous life that culminated in great sadness
There is pain and grief for Norah, but there is also catharsis, and for the reader, so much more between...
March 27, 2020
The Librarian’s Cellar Books 2020: Sisters by Daisy Johnson
An eerie glimpse into the lives of haunted people, SISTERS is compelling and beautiful.
Born just ten months apart, July and September are as close as twins, never needing anyone but each other. When their single mother moves them to Settle House, a palpable unease slowly emerges, as do a series of unsettling revelations that will keep you reading until the very end.
Multi-faceted in theme and style, SISTERS creeps upon you and is completely absorbing.
Published July 2020. My thanks to...
March 23, 2020
Taking time out… and not writing.
Strange days are these, and everywhere I turn, there is advice for writers. How to make the best of all this spare time during social isolation. How to be more productive. How to finish that WIP. And I fell into all of it putting pressure on myself to produce, to create, though nothing of worth was emerging.
I was riddled with guilt that I wasnt writing until I copped on!
So I stopped trying. Left it alone. Shut the laptop and stacked the notebooks. I read more books, practiced my amateur...
March 13, 2020
The Librarian’s Cellar Books 2020: Recollections of My Nonexistence: A Memoir by Rebecca Solnit
Rebecca Solnit has written prolifically on feminism, politics and art, and while not a traditionally written memoir, Recollections of my Non-Existence is an interesting and relatable insight into her formative years, charting a journey of enlightenment, experiences and friendships that influenced her writing and activism.
More importantly, the book shines a light on the experience of Rebecca, and indeed, for all women, finding their space in the world a world, that because of our gender, is...
February 20, 2020
The Librarian’s Cellar Book Recommendations 2020: You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce
Fantastical, sinister and disturbing. Unreliable narrator, Cassandra Tipp is an elderly author, and she is missing. However, she has left a manuscript for her niece and nephew to read which details her strange and harrowing life, while also holding a password to accessing the vast fortune she has accumulated from her romance novels.
Cassandra’s story is darkly surreal and woven around her lifelong relationship with ‘Pepper-man’ a vampiric faerie (yes!) and his community of woodland...