The Irish Books with Oprah's Seal of Approval

1. Milkman

by Anna Burns

€11.59 €14.50

Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2018, shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2019, shortlisted for The Women's Prize For Fiction 2019, shortlisted For The Orwell Prize For Political Fiction 2019. In an unnamed city, where to be interesting is dangerous, an eighteen-year-old woman has attracted the unwanted and unavoidable attention of a powerful and frightening older man, 'Milkman'. In this community, where suggestions quickly become fact, where gossip and hearsay can lead to terrible consequences, what can she do to stop a rumour once it has started? Milkman is persistent, the word is spreading, and she is no longer in control . . . 'Blazing.' Daily Telegraph 'Outstanding.' New Statesman 'A triumph.' Guardian 'Utterly compelling.' Irish Times 'The best Booker winner in years.' Metro 

2. From a low and quiet sea

by Donal Ryan

€10.44 €13.05

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018, SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2018 'An engrossing, unpredictable, beautifully crafted novel' Roddy Doyle Farouk's country has been torn apart by war. Lampy's heart has been laid waste by Chloe. John's past torments him as he nears his end. The refugee. The dreamer. The penitent. From war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland, three men, scarred by all they have loved and lost, are searching for some version of home. Each is drawn towards a powerful reckoning, one that will bring them together in the most unexpected of ways.

3. Dubliners

by James Joyce

€12.60

In Dubliners , James Joyce takes us on an extraordinary journey with the ordinary men and women from the city of his birth. In 'Araby' a young boy struggles with everyday tasks in the face of a growing infatuation with his neighbour's sister; in 'The Boarding House' a single mother orchestrates a marriage proposal for her daughter; in 'The Dead' the ideas of birth and decay are played out over the course of a dinner. From short, lyrical stories to the novella-length masterpiece which concludes this collection, Dubliners is as alive with feeling as it was when first published.

4. The country girls trilogy

by Edna O'Brien

€15.07 €18.85

Edna O'Brien's beloved classics plunge us into the lives and loves of two girls in rural 1950s Ireland (with a new foreword by Eimear McBride). 'The taboo-breaking, the fabulous prose - there's no one like Edna O'Brien ... Beautiful.' Anne Enright 'Novels of heart-breaking empathy, rigorous honesty and peerless beauty.' Eimear McBride 'Brilliant and brave.' Ann Patchett 'A treasure.' New York Times ONE OF THE BBC'S '100 NOVELS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD' Caithleen 'Kate' Brady and Bridget 'Baba' Brennan are growing up in a repressive Irish village after World War II. Kate is a romantic, looking for love; Baba is a reckless survivor. After being expelled from convent school, they dream of the bright lights of Dublin - and are rewarded with bad luck and bad sex; marry for the wrong reasons; but continue to fight the expectations forced upon 'girls' of every era to become brave new women. Edna O'Brien's debut novels revolutionised Irish literature in the 1960s. Banned by the authorities as 'indecent' and burned by the clergy, they were notorious for their frank portrayal of sexual desire: but scandal turned to fame, and made this glorious coming-of-age tale an instant classic that inspires and delights readers to this day. 'Buoyantly youthful ... With all the freshness in the world.' Sunday Times 'An excellent and highly unusual blend of bawdiness and innocence.' Evening Standard 'O'Brien simply offers her characters and they come to us living.' V.S. Naipaul 'A natural writer ... [such] unphoney charm and unlaborious originality.' Kingsley Amis 'One of the greatest Irish writers, of this or any era.' Sunday Independent 'One of our bravest and best novelists' Irish Times 'A literary great.' Times

5. Oh my god, what a complete Aisling!

by Emer McLysaght

€8.79 €10.99

The 1st book in the Complete Aisling series.  Aisling is 28, and she's a complete Aisling. Living 'Down Home' with Mammy and Daddy, she commutes to her good pensionable job in Dublin and stays two nights a week with her boyfriend of seven years, John. But Aisling wants more. She wants the ring on her finger. She wants the hen with the willy straws. She wants the grand big house with the utility room of her dreams. When a week in Tenerife doesn't result in a proposal, Aisling decides she's had enough. It's time for a change. A new start, a love triangle (well, more of a square) and some home truths force Aisling out of her comfort zone and into a life she never imagined. Praise for Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling 'Oh lads! This book! There aren't enough words for how much I love it. It's feckin' HILAIRE and very touching'. MARIAN KEYES 'Everyone in Ireland was reading Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling this Christmas and I got thoroughly swept up in the hype, devouring it in a couple of sittings. It's been called 'An Irish Bridget Jones' - and that should give you an idea of what you're dealing with. It's sweet and it's funny and it's moving.' LYNN ENRIGHT, THE POOL 'If I had a book of the year award for 2017 it would go to Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen. I was expecting comedy and social satire but what I hadn't bargained for was the sheer humanity of the book that left me giggling at some pages and sobbing at others. Aisling will be back and I'll be waiting to hear more.' SINEAD CROWLEY 'A loving ode to a certain type of Irish woman that's hilarious, comforting and warm. A hot water bottle of a book, if you will.' THE DAILY EDGE 'A hilarious and heart-warming journey with our favourite country girl'. THE IRISH TIMES 'An utter ray of sunshine. Now that I've finished the book, I miss Aisling so much that it hurts. There's a beautiful rhythm to the way that Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght have written OMGWACA; I've rarely read a book that has such a strong, distinctive voice but more than that, it's funny. Proper funny. Actual, literal, LOL funny. I laughed. Out loud. On the tube.' RED MAGAZINE 'Sweet, charming, funny and poignant.' THE JOURNAL 'There's a little bit of Aisling in all of us'. THE SUNDAY TIMES 'One of the funniest books I've read in twenty years.' PAUL HOWARD 'One of my fave novels of 2017. It really does remind me of Marian Keyes.' LOUISE O'NEILL

6. Angela's ashes

by Frank McCourt

€12.75 €15.95

Stunning reissue of the phenomenal worldwide bestseller: Frank McCourt's sad, funny, bittersweet memoir of growing up in New York in the 30s and in Ireland in the 40s. It is a story of extreme hardship and suffering, in Brooklyn tenements and Limerick slums - too many children, too little money, his mother Angela barely coping as his father Malachy's drinking bouts constantly brings the family to the brink of disaster. It is a story of courage and survival against apparently overwhelming odds. Written with the vitality and resonance of a work of fiction, and with a remarkable absence of sentimentality, 'Angela's Ashes' is imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's distinctive humour and compassion. Out of terrible circumstances, he has created a glorious book in the tradition of Ireland's literary masters, which bears all the marks of a great classic.

7. The heart's invisible furies

by John Boyne

€11.59 €11.99

'A bold, funny epic' Observer 'Compelling and satisfying . . . At times, incredibly funny, at others, heartrending' Sarah Winman, author of Still Life ___ Cyril Avery is not a real Avery. At least, that's what his parents make sure to remind him. Adopted as a baby, he feels more and more disconnected with the family that treats him more as a curious pet, rather than a beloved son. So, as a young adult, Cyril decides to embark on a quest to find his place in the world. Sometimes misguided and often in the wrong place at the wrong time, life has dealt him a difficult hand but Cyril is resolute that he can change things, and find the courage to be himself. And in doing so, his story will come across that of Catherine Goggin, a young, pregnant woman finding herself alone and isolated at only sixteen. There is a place in the world for both of them, and Cyril is determined to find it. The new novel by John Boyne, WATER, is available for pre-order now. ___ What readers are saying: 'The story of the life of one man, told against the backdrop of twentieth century Ireland' 'Simultaneously heart-breaking, funny and life-affirming.' 'Fantastic eccentric characters and dark humour is underpinned by a touching love story, perfect.' 'The saddest and happiest book I have read . . . told with great compassion and ultimately a great love of life.'

8. Conversations with friends

by Sally Rooney

€8.99 €14.50

'This book. This book. I read it in one day. I hear I'm not alone.' - Sarah Jessica Parker (Instagram) WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES / PFD YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2018 SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2018 SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2018 LONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE 2018 A SUNDAY TIMES , OBSERVER AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR Frances is twenty-one years old, cool-headed and observant. A student in Dublin and an aspiring writer, at night she performs spoken word with her best friend Bobbi, who used to be her girlfriend. When they are interviewed and then befriended by Melissa, a well-known journalist who is married to Nick, an actor, they enter a world of beautiful houses, raucous dinner parties and holidays in Provence, beginning a complex m�nage-�-quatre. But when Frances and Nick get unexpectedly closer, the sharply witty and emotion-averse Frances is forced to honestly confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time.

9. The Commitments

by Roddy Doyle

€11.59 €14.50

Barrytown, Dublin, has something to sing about. The Commitments are spreading the gospel of the soul. Ably managed by Jimmy Rabbitte, brilliantly coached by Joey 'The Lips' Fagan, their twin assault on Motown and Barrytown takes them by leaps and bounds from the parish hall to the steps of the studio door. But can The Commitments live up to their name? The bestselling book behind the long-running West End stage show. 'Unstoppable fun. A big-hearted, big-night out' The Times

10. The snapper

by Roddy Doyle

€11.59 €14.50

Meet the Rabbitte family, motley bunch of loveable ne'er-do-wells whose everyday purgatory is rich with hangovers, dogshit and dirty dishes. When the older sister announces her pregnancy, the family are forced to rally together and discover the strangeness of intimacy. But the question remains: which friend of the family is the father of Sharon's child? By the bestselling author of The Commitments , now a long-running West End stage show. 'Unstoppable fun. A big-hearted, big-night out' The Times