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The Best Irish Lit to Read Now

From James Joyce to Edna O'Brien, Ireland has long punched above its weight when it comes to producing literary talent. This reading list will keep you up-to-date with today’s Irish authors continuing that legacy, including a few of our favorite recent works from both rising stars and established prize winners.

8 books
Book Cover for: Intermezzo, Sally Rooney

Intermezzo

Sally Rooney

There is no bigger name in contemporary Irish popular literature than Sally Rooney. Her breakout works, which include the Booker Prize nominated Normal People, were well received by critics and readers alike, and her latest novel, Intermezzo, was again received to widespread acclaim. Unlike her previous tales, this story follows two brothers, on seemingly different life paths, as they wrestle with their relationship to each other, and to the people they love amidst a period of grief and despair.

MJ FranklinConstance GradyMJ Franklin & Constance Grady

Hardcover, 2024

$29.00$14.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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Book Cover for: The Heart in Winter, Kevin Barry

The Heart in Winter

Kevin Barry

The Guardian called Kevin Barry's 2024 novel, The Heart in Winter, "A wedding of Cormac McCarthy with Flann O'Brien; a western but also the most Irish of novels; a tragedy written as farce... inspiring joy with every incident, every concept, every sentence." With praise like that, it's easy to understand why Barry has become one of the most talked about Irish authors of the last year.

The New StatesmanSandra NewmanThe New Statesman & Sandra Newman

Hardcover, 2024

$28.00$14.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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Book Cover for: Ordinary Human Failings, Megan Nolan

Ordinary Human Failings

Megan Nolan

Megan Nolan broke out with her blistering 2021 debut, Acts of Desperation – an excruciatingly evocative depiction of toxic love. In February, she released her follow-up act. In Ordinary Human Failings, a child is found dead on a London estate and the tight-knit neighborhood suspects a family of Irish immigrants of being behind it. But the power of the novel relies less on suspense and more on, as CrimeReads’ Molly Odinitz wrote, its “visceral, knowing exploration of human misery and the ways we fail ourselves.”

Keiran GoddardHarriet LaneKeiran Goddard & Harriet Lane

Hardcover, 2024

$27.00$13.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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Book Cover for: Wild Houses, Colin Barrett

Wild Houses

Colin Barrett

Colin Barrett broke out with his 2014 collection, Young Skins, which won him the prestigious Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and landed him a spot on the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" list. Wild Houses, his debut novel, was longlisted for the Booker Prize and cemented his reputation as one of Ireland's brightest literary stars. The story follows the effects of a kidnapping gone wrong in a small Irish town.

Paperback, 2025

$18.00$9.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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Book Cover for: Nesting, Roisín O'Donnell

Nesting

Roisín O'Donnell

Roisín O'Donnell's Nesting was an instant hit in the UK and Ireland, and thankfully it has finally made its way across the Atlantic. The book follows a young mother who flees a dangerous domestic situation with her two young daughters and struggles to find a stable place to live in a broken housing system. The Guardian was effusive with praise calling it "a moving portrait of life inside the housing system and the courage it takes to try to build a home in society’s cracks" and describing the reading experience as "more akin to devouring a thriller than a work of domestic realism."

Hardcover, 2025

$29.00$14.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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Book Cover for: Long Island, Colm Toibin

Long Island

Colm Toibin

Colm Tóibín is not a new name to the Irish literary scene. He is the author of eleven novels, three of which have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Now in his late sixties, Tóibín shows no signs of slowing down. His 2024 novel Long Island was once again received to near universal praise. The story follows an Irish wife living on Long Island, who is placed in an impossible position by her Italian American husband's infidelity. Though technically a sequel to Tóibín's, Brooklyn, Long Island stands perfectly well on its own. If you have not yet discovered the genius of Colm Tóibín, this is a perfect place to start.

Paperback, 2025

$18.99$9.49 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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Book Cover for: The Rachel Incident, Caroline O'Donoghue

The Rachel Incident

Caroline O'Donoghue

The Rachel Incident was one of the best reviewed books of 2023. Caroline O'Donoghue's coming-of-age tale about love, friendship, books, and Ireland is perfect for fans of Sally Rooney. Like Rooney, O'Donoghue examines the lives of young people with precision, and paints a vivid portrait of millennial life amidst looming financial uncertainty and emotional turbulence. Vogue called it "a sneakily philosophical book about growing up that offers its insights with charming, effervescent ease."

The Irish TimesPandora SykesThe Irish Times & Pandora Sykes

Hardcover, 2023

$28.00$14.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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Book Cover for: The Alternatives, Caoilinn Hughes

The Alternatives

Caoilinn Hughes

Caoilinn Hughes 2024 novel, The Alternatives, rotates around the lives of orphaned sisters, now in their thirties and largely estranged, who must reconvene in their Irish homeland when the eldest sister suddenly disappears. Writing for the Star Tribune, Claude Peck, said "The Alternatives contains multitudes. Its mysteries and complexities reward a second reading... [its] ending is a stunner. And Olwen, Maeve, Nell and Rhona make it unforgettable."

Hardcover, 2024

$28.00$14.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
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