The bishop who was shot dead while carrying out a robbery
This week there’s a novel set in Britain during the coldest winter on record at the time, 1947, at the start of the Cold War. There’s a self-help book by a life coach and holistic therapist to help us connect with each other and ourselves. There’s a story about a neurodivergent child who believes she can crack the code of an ancient manuscript that nobody else has cracked. For the week that’s in it, there’s a collection of ‘Irish Oddities’ and there are two delightful new picture books for the rugrats.
The Right Shoes, Lucy Cronly, Orla Kelly Publishing, €15
One of the most pressing issues of our time is the struggle to build authentic connections in an increasingly disconnected world, one where many of us feel more isolated than ever. Lucy Cronly’s book tackles just that. Blending neuroscience and holistic coaching techniques, Cronly offers readers a practical guide to confront the challenges of modern life and create a more connected and meaningful existence. Are we truly living, or merely skimming the surface of what it means to deeply connect? Whether you’re looking to improve your relationships, find greater meaning, or simply understand yourself better, this is a book for anyone navigating the complexities of modern life.
A Cold Wind from Moscow, Rory Clements, Zaffre, €15.99
The UK is still on its post-war, weary knees in the winter of 1947. And although the Nazis have been dealt with the Russians have not. In 1947 the Cold War already has its roots firmly planted, and Russia is now the silent aggressor. The British spy network has been infiltrated by a mole who must be caught. But he or she knows everyone in MI5, so the task must be accomplished by a complete outsider who can be trusted. Enter Tom Wilde, professor in Cambridge, half-Irish and half-American, who did espionage work for the US during the war. He has settled into life as a retired spy, teaching in college and looking after his six-year-old, while his wife is studying medicine in London.
Tom is to learn that spies don’t get to retire. Stalin’s ‘super-spy’ within the ranks of MI5 is already wreaking havoc, the aim being to get the inside gen on Britian’s nuclear arms developments. As the exceptionally cold winter trudges on – even in spring there were icebergs spotted off the coast of Norfolk and birds fell from the trees, dead from starvation – Wilde has his work cut out for him, and three principal suspects. A chilly but explosive thriller from Clements’ deft and experienced pen.
Life Hacks for a Little Alien, Alice Franklin, Little, Brown, €16.99
A novel about neurodivergence and its effect on one family, this story follows protagonist ‘Little Alien’ as she navigates life, the universe and everything through her very personal and particular lens. She learns a bit about the Voynich Manuscript (a codex which is thought to be Italian 15th century and one that has never been decoded). It inspires her to explore the world of linguistics, which she finds endlessly fascinating, and which the reader will find entertaining.
When Little Alien hears the manuscript will be on display in London, loaned to a university there, she decides to go to London to see it, convinced she will somehow break the code. She heads off with her only friend Bobby on what she thinks will be an adventure, but her experience will be too much for her mentally ill mother, sending her back to the psychiatric ward. It’s an original story, told with empathy and humour and gives the reader an explicit insight into how the world can be perceived by children who are outsiders, due to being ‘on the spectrum’.
Foster’s Irish Oddities, Allen Foster, Gill, €14.99
Allen Foster is a farmer from Enfield in County Meath. He’s also a writer and researcher and has published two previous books on Irish oddities. So this book is a kind of re-publishing, taking the best from both previously published volumes and merging them into one. And if you own this book, you’ll never again be stuck for conversation at the dinner table! Covering the 32 counties and spread across more than four centuries, it’s chock full of the strangest, oddest and sometimes funniest facts.
In the same vein as Ripley’s Believe it or Not, it proves without doubt that fact is really stranger than fiction, and that when it comes to weirdness nobody could invent the things that happen in real life. For instance, in a court hearing in Donegal in 1835, the plaintiff, the defendant, the judge, the court clerk, both solicitors and all three witnesses were named Doherty.
Ireland’s rarest fish, the goureen, is only found in a lake in Kerry and nowhere else on the island. The heaviest-ever corpse to be buried in Ireland weighed a staggering 53 stone. Imagine carrying that casket! Then there’s the Bishop of Raphoe who was shot dead while carrying out a robbery. He was a bishop by day and a highwayman by night. Like I said, you couldn’t make this stuff up. Highly entertaining.
Two delightful picture books for the kiddies are Sarah Kilcoyne’s The Lost Treasures of Clew Bay (Gill Books €16.99) and Huw Aaron’s Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob (Puffin €9.99). In the first, Saoirse’s Grandad, who lives near Clew Bay, tells Saoirse about the Pirate Queen of Clew Bay (presumably Gráinne Mhaol) and of how she hid looted treasure in the bay and never reclaimed it. Saoirse, Grandad and dog Nessa decide to go on a treasure hunt, ending up on Clare Island. In Huw Aaron’s book, the Disgusting Blob has to settle down and go to sleep, just like every other disgusting and monstrous creature. An ingenious rhyming book, the text is highly rhythmic and gains momentum as it goes along. And the illustrations are great. Kids will love it.
Footnotes
Community arts and culture groups for the over 55s are being invited to take part in this year’s Bealtaine Festival running for the month of May. See bealtaine.ie for details on how to register and what you can do.