Title: ‘The Wintersongs’ by Kevin Barry
Collection/Anthology?: There Are Little Kingdoms (Stinging Fly Press)
Date Read: 09 September 2010
Briefly: A ‘bony and long and turkey-necked’ old woman boards a train at a country station and sits down on a seat opposite a younger woman traveling on her own. Far from shy, the older woman begins to chat to the younger one. And so begins a journey where the old woman’s ceaseless chatter is fueled by the sights that unfold before her, while a younger woman wriggles uncomfortably as she wishes she was sitting some place else.
Afterthoughts: This is another great story from Barry and it’s one that very much reminds me of a Guy de Maupassant tale, even though it’s set in Ireland. And I think this story resonates with the spirit of Maupassant because the main character is over-exaggerated and extreme; the type of character that Maupassant took great delight in creating. Is Barry’s story as good as anything the French maestro ever turned out? Absolutely and then some. Barry has expertly engineered this story so that the only voice that can be heard is the voice of the old woman. This results in a story that is presented as more monologue than dialogue, and it all adds to the effect of making the old woman seem all the more annoying, and all the more loquacious. What a genius stroke!
Rating: 
This story was read as part of a review of Kevin Barry’s short story collection, There Are Little Kingdoms. If you want to find out more about this collection then I invite you to either visit my ‘forethoughts’ post, or to pop along to the product page for the collection, on the publisher’s website.
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