An Arrow in Flight: Selected Stories of Mary Lavin

by Mary Lavin, Colm Tóibín (Introduction)

One of the great overlooked voices of modern Irish literature, once hailed as “magnificent” by The New York Times, Mary Lavin’s fiction is now being revived for a new generation of readers in this definitive volume, selected and introduced by Colm Tóibín.

During her lifetime, Irish American writer Mary Lavin was a prominent literary figure. Throughout the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, her stories were frequently featured in The New Yorker, compared to the works of Chekhov, James, and Wharton, and celebrated in major publications, ranging from The New York Times to The Irish Times. Lavin won prestigious awards, such as the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Katherine Mansfield Prize, and her influence extends to many of today’s great fiction writers. Yet, despite her incredible success, Lavin’s once acclaimed body of work has largely fallen out of print, lost and erased from the canon.

Now, An Arrow in Flight brings together sixteen of Lavin’s most powerful stories, selected and introduced by Colm Tóibín. In witty and sharp prose, these tales explore familial tensions, relationships between men and women, and the social mores and biases of 20th-century Irish society, from the streets of Dublin to the fields of County Meath. Essential for any fan of contemporary Irish literature, An Arrow in Flight shines a much-needed light on “a master of the genre” (Los Angeles Times) who has, for too long, remained in the shadows.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Ireland, Irish Literature

416 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2026

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading forgotten authors is so special.

mini reviews for each story:


TRASTEVERE
oh, to be a beautiful outspoken girl with a great job who makes all the dinners awkward by making fun of her husband...
rating: 4


IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELDS
this story of farms and first wives and meadows and nightgowns and minor betrayals is so removed from my life it might as well be fantasy.
rating: 4


A MEMORY
this is the exact fate every man perpetuating a situationship should be sentenced to.
rating: 3.5


A CUP OF TEA
mother daughter relationships be like that.
rating: 3.5


A STORY WITH A PATTERN
if a guy came up to me at a party and said "hey your work sucks" i would never ever let him tell me a 40 minute story.
rating: 3


THE BIG WAVE
this is about fishing, but more so about Greed and Destiny and Human Nature. the usual suspects.
rating: 3.5


IN A CAFE
widow meetup.
rating: 3.5


ASIGH
i have read enough to know that mary lavin is incredibly adept with loneliness.
rating: 4


HAPPINESS
between this and fleabag and minor black figures and notes on your sudden disappearance...am i boring for never having had a semi-romance with a priest?
rating: 3.5


THE YELLOW BERET
this is the level of creativity my anxiety drives me to.
rating: 3.5


CHAMOIS GLOVES
i always forget people can just...become nuns.
rating: 3.5


THE LONG AGO
somehow this story about two widows who try to sympathize with and validate their spinster friend is so relatable. everyone knows someone who packed their bags and moved into the past.
rating: 4


AT SALLYGAP
oh, this was very depressing. of the cold-lonely-life-stoner-by-john-williams style that i hate to love.
rating: 4


SARAH
another depressing one. mary lavin loves to end a story with an inane sentence that actually has layers of meaning obvious only in context. it's like a riddle.
rating: 3.5


THE HAYMAKING
this is such a cautionary tale to me. i didn't have any plans to marry a grumpy farmer i barely know and move to the country, but now i definitely never will.
rating: 3.5


THE CUCKOO SPIT
may december.
rating: 4


OVERALL
these were — almost uniformly — simple, lovely, unassuming stories. it was a pleasure to read this collection.
rating: 4


(thanks to the publisher for the arc)

[JXR · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty great set of works with some good plotting and good vibes throughout. I loved the writing style on some, though others were a little weaker. Some are also a hair dated in style, which makes sense as Ms. Lavin died in the 90s. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

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[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Lavins short stories are so beautifully written so involving,introducing characters living emotional complicated lives.This is the first time I have read anything by this author ,Colin Tobin wrote the introduction to this collection sharing with us facts about the author life and her stories absolutely fascinating .

[Susan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has sixteen stories from Irish author Mary Lavin. The stories based in Ireland and fascinating and make a great read.