The Queen of Dirt Island – Donal Ryan

In a series of short two page chapters, written in dense, elegant, flowing prose, Ryan recounts the tightly intertwined lives of four generations of women.  Living in a rural subdivision not far from the family farm of the grandmother, much is centered on the evolution of the granddaughter Saoirse, whose father died in an automobile accident on the day after her birth. She leads a happy life with her family until a surprise teenage pregnancy. Complications ensue with feuding families, the IRA and the evils of land speculation. However, the strong bonds of family seem to survive and it comes with a happy ending!