Shortlisted - Best Short Story Collection
2019 Saboteur Awards
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Synopsis
As we climb the wooden hill to bed each night we trace our life's journey from birth, then each step toward death, the final sleep. This collection of short stories, by Jamie Guiney, explores what it is to be human at every stage of life, from the imminence of a new birth in `We Knew You Before You Were Born', through to adolescence and the camaraderie of youthful friendships as portrayed in `Sam Watson & The Penny World Cup'. Ultimately, all of our lives stride towards old age and the certainty of death, as poignantly evoked in the title story, `The Wooden Hill'.
Praise for The Wooden Hill:
‘Jamie Guiney’s
stories feel like classics read by the fireside on dark, winter nights. Tales
of ordinary people and their everyday lives are illuminated and elevated by
Guiney’s keen eye and gentle empathy.'
Paul McVeigh, winner of The Polari Prize
and The McCrea Literary Award
‘Evocative, lyrical
and touching, The Wooden Hill is a stunning collection. Under Jamie Guiney’s
pen the smallest detail becomes cinematic; characters breathe; landscapes live.
Intensely personal, unflinchingly human, these are stories to savour, lingering
long after the end.
Miranda Dickinson – Sunday Times
Bestseller
'Promising debut from Armagh Writer.'
Sarah Gilmartin, Irish Times
'Adroit, tricky and touching tales of the everyday and mortality from a writer at the outset of a promising career.'
Damian Smyth, Head of Literature for The NI Arts Council (writing in The Belfast Telegraph)
Rachel Read It, Book Blogger (Rachel Bridgeman)
What Cathy Read Next, Book Blogger (Cathy Johnston)
Literary Flits, Book Blogger (Stephanie Jane)
Bunny's Pause, Book Blogger (Emma McKay)