Trouble by Philip Ó Ceallaigh

Trouble by Philip Ó CeallaighFuelled by his piercing wit and unfaltering gaze, this new collection from Philip Ceallaigh is both a meditation on human frailty and an unflinching interrogation of loveof its losses and gains, and the surprising ways that it delivers purpose and meaning to our lives. Trouble is another stunning collection of stories from Philip Ceallaigh, a writer who continues to amaze me with the intelligence and muscular elegance of his writing. There is a unique

Ineradicable uncertainty is now a fact of life

but also attuned to the proximity of each moment

Set against the harsh poverty and difficult times of 1950s Ireland

while grappling with its darkest demons

The immigration officer shook my hand and his hard face softened

With God dead

with a ruby cover to celebrate 40 years since the first publication of Where's Spot

shiny foil cover

too much fear

intuitive wisdom and instinctual self- confidence

unexpected beauty in the wilderness

told in fragments of memory