{"product_id":"the-boatman-and-other-stories","title":"The Boatman and Other Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“I know of no writer on either side of the\u003cp\u003eAtlantic who is better at exploring the human spirit under assault than Billy\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eO’Callaghan.”—Robert Olen Butler\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe prizewinning Irish short-story writer and author of the\u003cp\u003ehighly praised novel, \u003cem\u003eMy Coney Island\u003cp\u003eBaby\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e, delivers his most accomplished book of short fiction to date—a\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003epoignant story collection that “grips from the opening page” (Bernard\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMacLaverty). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eare twelve poignant, quietly dazzling, and carefully crafted stories that\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eexplore the resiliency of the human heart and its ability to keep beating in\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe wake of bereavement, violence, lost love, and incomparable trauma and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003egrief.\u003c\/p\u003e Spanning\u003cp\u003ea century and two continents, from the muddy fields of Ireland to a hotel room\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein Paris, a dingy bar in Segovia to an airplane bound for Taipei, \u003cem\u003eThe Boatman and Other Stories\u003c\/em\u003e follows an\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eunforgettable cast of characters. Three gunshots on the Irish border define the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecourse of a young man’s life; a writer clings fast to a star-crossed affair\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewith a woman who has never been fully within his reach; a fisherman accustomed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto hard labor rolls up his sleeves to dig a grave for his child; and a pair of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enewlyweds embark on their first adventure, living wild on the deserted Beginish\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIsland.\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRanging\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom the elegiac to the brutally confrontational, these densely layered tales\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ereveal the quiet heroism and gentle dignity of ordinary life. Billy O’Callaghan\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eis a master celebrant of the smallness of the human flame against the dark: its\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estrength and its steady brightness.\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Billy O'Callaghan","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":55253237760291,"sku":"9780062856609","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780062856609.jpg?v=1781815382","url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/products\/the-boatman-and-other-stories","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}