Description
Book SynopsisA passionate, heartbreaking story of authority and revenge, alcoholism and futile redemption set in South Boston in the late 1990s. Told in short, tight, intertwined chapters, Broken Irish gives voice to the voiceless, portraying the shattered hopes of a disintegrating neighbourhood dominated by dependence on alcohol, revenge and the ghostly presence of a secretive, hypocritical church. Exploring pertinent issues of abuse within the Catholic church, it will appeal to a wide audience, while its graceful, spellbinding style will not go unnoticed in literary circles.
Trade ReviewBooklist Editors’ Choice Award
New England Book Festival Grand Prize Winner
Massachusetts Book Award Finalist
Julie Ward Howe Prize Honorable Mention
Massachusetts Center For The Book “Must-Read” selection
Publishers Weekly “Pick of the Week” selection
"Truly indelible. . . . [Delaney] cares about details and understands their importance to the larger themes of loss, desperation, and betrayed loyalties. His characters are not merely vehicles for ideas, but rather fully realized, familiar people, whose failures are heartbreakingly authentic." —Boston Globe
"[Broken Irish] has a complex plot and a driving, fast-paced narrative. . . . Highly recommended." —Star Tribune
"Searing, unforgettable. . . .Though Broken Irish deals with dark subjects it doesn't come off as heavy-handed. Exceedingly clever, the connection between the characters isn't revealed until the very end of the book, making you want to go back to the beginning to sort out the pieces and see how these characters' lives are intertwined." —Missourian
"Glistens with poetic charisma. . . . Delaney does a tremendous job with the different voices. . . . Perspectives jump effortlessly from character to character, brain to heart, motivation to instinct, love to fear." —Brooklyn Rail
"A masterpiece." —Library Journal (starred review)
"Beautifully and heartbreakingly balanced." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Readers will be captivated. . . . [Delaney] demonstrate great dexterity and storytelling acumen in his lyrical page-turner." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In an artfully constructed story . . . Delaney tackles corporate corruption, the sex-abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, gun violence, and, especially, alcoholism (in searing passages on the ravages of drink that recall Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano)." —Booklist (starred review)
"Muscular and taut. . . . A great story that reaches into a reader's life [and] poses important questions about people, fate and community." —Shelf Awareness for Readers
"Epic in its scope but relentlessly compelling in its storytelling—not a common combination—Broken Irish is a splendidly readable and richly textured novel. Edward J. Delaney is an enormously gifted writer." —Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain and Perfume River
"In Delaney's South Boston little is lost, nothing forgotten. Old sins, old wounds haunt his characters, young and old, and reverberate throughout his wonderfully complicated plot. Broken Irish is an enthralling, satisfying novel." —Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy and The Hidden Machinery
"An entire community is on the brink. Hope is the only hope. And faith cannot scrub the grime off its hands. With Broken Irish, Delaney delivers a gripping epic." —Adam Braver, author of Mr. Lincoln's Wars and The Disappeared
"If you're anything like me, you Will. Not. Be. Able. To. Stop. Reading." —David Abrams, author of Fobbit and Brave Deeds, at the Quivering Pen
