Forethoughts: There Are Little Kingdoms by Kevin Barry

From the outset I’ve got to admit that I’ve never read a single word of fiction penned by Irish writer, Kevin Barry. Despite There Are Little Kingdoms taking The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2007 Barry has – even given my insatiable thirst for short stories – always managed to slip beneath my reading radar. Or rather he has, until now! With Barry due to appear with Simon Van Booy at an event I’m attending at the Edinburgh Book Festival on August 30th, I need to get my skates on pretty quickly and get to know something of the stories of Kevin Barry. And I couldn’t think of a better or more thrilling way of doing this (I hope), than to read through the only short story collection that Kevin Barry has had published so far.

There Are Little Kingdoms may be Kevin Barry’s only published work to date (his first novel, City of Bohane, will be published by Jonathan Cape next spring) but boy did it make an entrance when it was first published. Not only, as mentioned above, did it pick up the prestigious Rooney Prize for Irish Literature during its first year of publication (and bag Barry a rather tasty €10,000 cheque into the bargain), but it was also named ‘book of the year’ in that same year by The Irish Times, The Sunday Tribune, and Metro. It’s clear that this is a short story collection that very much landed with a bang in Barry’s native Ireland, and aside from anything else I’m intrigued to find out why. The publisher blurb itself seems to some explanation:

Fast girls cool their heels on a slow night in a small town; a bewildered man steps off a country bus in search of his identity; lonesome hillwalkers take to the high reaches in hope of a saving embrace. These are just three of the scenarios played out in Kevin Barry’s wonderfully imagined and riotously entertaining short stories. Throw in a lust-deranged poultry farmer, a gigantic taxi driver stricken with chilling visions, a jaded air hostess and a stressed-out genie, and you have stunning, provocative and richly comic collection from a writer of unique gifts.

Now, putting aside the mention of the ‘genie’ (and possibly that of the ‘jaded air hostess’) I think what we may have here is a collection of stories about ordinary, everyday Irish folks, living out life in ordinary, everyday Ireland. Of course I’m not suggesting that these stories are going to follow ordinary, everyday plots – the very mention of a genie in one of the stories puts paid to that notion – but I think the settings and the people are going to be as Irish as Saint Patrick’s Day itself. And that, I think, is what probably gave this short story collection its initial appeal when it was first published.

And certainly Kevin Barry’s background would suggest that this collection is glowing with the spectral hues of the Emerald Isle. Born in 1969 in Limerick, Barry began his writing career as a reporter for the Limerick Tribune (now no longer), before taking up employment with the Limerick Post. Barry’s position as reporter for the Limerick Post lasted three years during which time he regularly jumped between county court and council meeting, gathering the important news of the day. It was during this time – as he reveals in a 2007 interview Limerick Leader given not long after winning the Rooney Prize – that Barry also gathered what would one day become the raw materials for his short stories, including one of the most important ingredients of all:

In terms of writing fiction later on, all human life is in the Limerick courts and you learn all you need to know about dialogue there.

So from that little snippet of biography on Barry it’s not outrageous to suggest that this story collection is going to give a very clear and pin sharp impression of Irish life during the past few decades. I expect therefore to learn much of the people, the places and the culture of Ireland, and significantly, at a ‘grassroots’ level. It’s obvious that this is a much loved collection in Ireland, and I think much of that is probably down to a certain amount of charm that has been infused into all of the stories contained within. And this makes the collection all the more appealing to me.

Talking of appeal, I also want to briefly mention the cover in these forethoughts. Because if further encouragement were needed to invite the reader to take up this collection, then I think the cover delivers on this exquisitely. The book jacket designer, Fergal Condon’s decision to take Niamh Flanagan’s original etching ‘Not So Far Away’ as the basis for his cover design is inspirational, I think. Not only does Flanagan’s artwork give a superb graphical representation that perfectly matches the tone of the synopsis for the collection, but it also projects a real charm. The design is a winner, no question!

Before I close these forethoughts, a quick note on how I intend to read my way through There Are Little Kingdoms. I will employ the same system I use for all of the story collections that I review. I will work my way through the collection reviewing every story in order as I go. For your benefit, and for mine, the contents of the collection are listed below, and I will hyperlink to each story as I review it. When complete I will collate everything and offer my final afterthoughts (what some may call an ‘official review’) on the collection as a whole. Aside from posts reviewing the individual stories I may also speak about the collection in the virtual pages of my reading journal, and/or on Twitter. So look out for these instances too.

So for now dear reader that’s all I have to say about There Are Little Kingdoms and its author, Kevin Barry. I think I’ve made it clear just how excited I am about reading through these stories – which is nothing new when I get my talons in a new (to me) short story collection – but this time I have the added thrill (if all goes according to plan) of being able to meet the author in person at precisely the time that my journey through this collection should come to an end. I can’t tell you how enlivened that makes me feel, and I sense that its going to be an extraordinary week. I hope very much then, that you can accompany me every step of the way.

****

Contents of There Are Little Kingdoms (links lead to individual reviews of each story, when posted)

• Atlantic City
• To the Hills
• See The Tree, How Big It’s Grown
• Animal Needs
• Last Days Of The Buffalo
• Ideal Homes
• The Wintersongs
• Party At Helen’s
• Breakfast Wine
• Burn The Bad Lamp
• There Are Little Kingdoms
• Nights At The Gin Palace
• The Penguins

Stinging Fly Press | Oct 2007 | €9.99 | PAPERBACK | 154 PP | ISBN: 9780955015298

Find out more about Kevin Barry:

• Eimear Ryan’s Q +A Session with Kevin Barry.
• Limerick Leader’s 2007 feature on Kevin Barry.
• Short Review interview with Kevin Barry.
• Read Kevin Barry’s short story, Fjord of Killary, in New Yorker Magazine.

A note about forethoughts
Forethoughts offer an insight into what my initial thoughts and impressions of a book are before I begin reading it. Informal and largely written as a stream-of-consciousness exercise in a single sitting, my forethoughts capture an important stage of the reading experience for me – the anticipatory period before the book is first opened, when my excitement is piqued for the reading experience which lies ahead.

Blissfully ignorant my forethoughts may well be but when combined with my eventual afterthoughts, the result is a unique and comprehensive record of a very personal literary ‘journey’ through a particular book; a literary journey which will hopefully be of some value, and of some interest to other readers.