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The Quick and the Dead

Selected Stories
By Mairtin O Cadhain
Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In The Quick and the Dead by Mairtin O Cadhain, the story unfolds in an eccentric village where life intertwines with folklore, tradition, and the ordinary moments of rural existence. Characters navigate societal changes and personal dilemmas, reflecting on their lives and engaging in vivid dialogues that reveal the complexities of human nature. The novel paints a rich tapestry of community life, capturing the essence of Irish culture with humour and depth.
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Format: Hardback
$7199
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate a unique blend of dark humour and profound exploration of human nature. As a work of General Fiction, it's renowned for its imaginative narrative style and sharp social commentary, providing a thought-provoking glimpse into the human condition. The author's distinctive voice and wit make it an engaging read for those who relish literary fiction with depth and originality.

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A collection of the finest stories from the Irish author of The Dirty Dust, published fifty years after his death

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A collection of the finest stories from the Irish author of The Dirty Dust, published fifty years after his death

These colourful tales from beloved Irish author Máirtín Ó Cadhain (1906–1970) whisk readers to the salty western shores of Ireland, where close-knit farming communities follow the rhythms of custom, family, and land, even as they dream together of a kinder world. In this collection, the resilient women and men of the Gaeltacht regions struggle toward self-realisation against the brutal pressures of rural poverty, and later, the hollowing demands of modern city life.

Weaving together tradition and modernity, and preserving the earthy cadence of the original language, this rich collection by one of Ireland’s most acclaimed fiction writers is a composite portrait of a country poised at the edge of irreversible transformation.

Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Mairtin O Cadhain's The Quick and the Dead is acclaimed as a visionary work of Irish literature. It is noted for its powerful and economical prose, with each sentence described as impactful and emotive. The collection is praised for broadening the scope of the Irish short story, making it darker and more imaginative, while highlighting O Cadhain's radical and comedic contributions to mid-twentieth-century Irish writing.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300247213

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 26 October 2021

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Louis de Paor

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Mairtin O Cadhain Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters

About the Author

Máirtín Ó Cadhain was born in An Cnocán Glas, Cois Fharraige, Connemara. He is best known for his novel Cré na Cille, which has been translated into English as The Dirty Dust and Graveyard Clay. Louis de Paor is professor of Irish studies at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

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  • The Dirty Dust
    The original English-language translation of Ó Cadhain’s raucous masterpiece Cré na Cille, which Colm Tóibín has called the “greatest novel to be written in the Irish language”. "An audacious novel rendered entirely in dialogue . . . [with] hilarious quarrels and devastating put-downs that reflect O’Cadhain’s finely attuned ear for the nimble language of his people. He does not judge...
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  • The Dregs of the Day
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