"In the Event of Contact" by Irish writer Ethel Rohan has been published in Ireland and the UK this month!! I'm very familiar with Ethel's brilliant work, so I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!! This series of short stories has already received some amazing reviews, some of which are listed below.
You can order this delight online HERE
In the Event of Contact contains fourteen gripping stories set in
Ireland, England, and America. Stories from a singular survivor voice that
chronicle crises of contact, various forms of injury, and characters making
surprising bids for recovery.
Among them, a scrappy teen vies to be
the next Sherlock Holmes; an immigrant daughter must defend her decision to
remain childless; a guilt-ridden woman is haunted by the disappearance of her
childhood friend; a cantankerous crossing guard celebrates getting run over by
a truck; an embattled priest with dementia determines to perform a heroic,
redemptive act, if he can only remember how; and an aspirational, angst-ridden
mother captains the skies.
Amid backgrounds of trespass,
absence, and necessity, the indelible characters of In the Event of Contact seek renewed belief in
humanity and the remains of wonder.
“Terrific, insightful stories…through
subtly wrought metaphors and similes, Rohan draws us beyond the accommodations
[injured characters] have made in order to survive, and into the heart of their
trauma…compelling this reader to marvel at how doggedly so many of us recreate
and repeat our trauma…[an] extremely fine collection.” The Irish Times
In the Event of Contact is a timely read about the importance of connecting with other people on our own terms.” BITCH Magazine Selected Feminist Reads for 2021
“Through her brilliant storytelling, Rohan explores the deep desire for human relationships, and the physical or psychological distances that affect them.” Booklist
“Social distancing marked the lonely
horror that was this year; paradoxically a demonstration of how affection and
empathy for our fellow humans required us to retreat into ourselves, connection
now defined by the absence of contact. Ethel Rohan’s book of short stories
examines something similar in its evocation of what connection or its lack can
do to us. In the Event of Contact is a
loving homage to humanity in all its complexity.” The Millions
“A striking collection about
loners.” Publisher’s Weekly
“The stories straddle the faultlines
of the lives of their characters and as a collection quietly and subtly
accumulate a potency that by the end leaves the reader breathless.” The Westmeath Independent
