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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Kate O'Brien Award 2020 Shortlisted for the John McGahern Annual Book Prize 2019 Shortlisted for the Dalkey Literary Awards Emerging Writer category 2020 Longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2020 Shortlisted for the Butler Literary Award 2020 In these eleven stories, debut author Lucy Sweeney Byrne invites us to experience travelling the world alone as a young woman, with all its attendant pleasures and dangers. The staff of a boat moored in Brooklyn rebel against their tyrannical boss. A drifting writer house-sits in the wilds of Donegal in the midst of a health scare. In a Texas dive bar, two former lovers try to salvage a friendship from their intense connection. And in Mexico, a frustrated artist navigates a city both dangerous and alluring. Whether set in New York, Oaxaca, Havana or back home in Dublin, the result is by turns sharp, fearless and heartbreaking. Laced with biting humour and devastating observations, Paris Syndrome introduces a unique literary talent. Praise for Paris Syndrome: 'Full of vitality and precision, and so rawly funny - this is a fabulous debut.' Kevin Barry 'A feisty portrayal of the bleakness of modern life, full of fruitless longing, misplaced knowing and black irony.' Sara Baume 'Gripping and beautiful, Paris Syndrome is spiced with the tang of many places, but it's through the territory of the human soul that it ventures most bravely. It doesn't just give you the world, it presents a universe.' Gavin Corbett 'With its tone of appalled hilarity, its roving portraiture of twentysomething lostness, and its narrator's youthfully cruel perceptions - often turned squarely on herself - Paris Syndrome is an addictive, keeps-you-up-till-the-birds-are-singing read.' Rob Doyle 'Fearless and wryly funny, the stories in Paris Syndrome are a finely calibrated mix of rage and wonder.' Danielle McLaughlin 'Harrowing and hilarious in equal measures - and often, somehow, at the same time - Paris Syndrome is an unforgettable portrait of millennial womanhood.' Paul Murray
Trade Review"Gripping and entertaining with a strong feminist bent...a commendable debut" - The Irish Times "Consistently exciting, invigorating, challenging, surprising" - The Irish Independent "The theme of loneliness haunts this masterful collection" - RTE.ie
