An Arrow in Flight

One of the great overlooked voices of modern Irish literature, once hailed as "magnificent" by The New York Times , Mary Lavin's fiction is now being revived for a new generation of readers in this definitive volume, selected and introduced by Colm T?ib?n. During her lifetime, Irish American writer Mary Lavin was a prominent literary figure. Throughout the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, her stories were frequently featured in The New Yorker , compared to the works of Chekhov, James, and Wharton, and celebrated in major publications, ranging from The New York Times to The Irish Times . Lavin won prestigious awards, such as the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Katherine Mansfield Prize, and her influence extends to many of today's great fiction writers. Yet, despite her incredible success, Lavin's once acclaimed body of work has largely fallen out of print, lost and erased from the canon. Now, An Arrow in Flight brings together sixteen of Lavin's most powerful stories, selected and introduced by Colm T?ib?n. In witty and sharp prose, these tales explore familial tensions, relationships between men and women, and the social mores and biases of 20th-century Irish society, from the streets of Dublin to the fields of County Meath. Essential for any fan of contemporary Irish literature, An Arrow in Flight shines a much-needed light on "a master of the genre" ( Los Angeles Times ) who has, for too long, remained in the shadows.

One of the great overlooked voices of modern Irish literature, once hailed as "magnificent" by The New York Times , Mary Lavin's fiction is now being revived for a new generation of readers in this definitive volume, selected and introduced by Colm T?ib?n. During her lifetime, Irish American writer Mary Lavin was a prominent literary figure. Throughout the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, her stories were frequently featured in The New Yorker , compared to the works of Chekhov, James, and Wharton, and celebrated in major publications, ranging from The New York Times to The Irish Times . Lavin won prestigious awards, such as the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Katherine Mansfield Prize, and her influence extends to many of today's great fiction writers. Yet, despite her incredible success, Lavin's once acclaimed body of work has largely fallen out of print, lost and erased from the canon. Now, An Arrow in Flight brings together sixteen of Lavin's most powerful stories, selected and introduced by Colm T?ib?n. In witty and sharp prose, these tales explore familial tensions, relationships between men and women, and the social mores and biases of 20th-century Irish society, from the streets of Dublin to the fields of County Meath. Essential for any fan of contemporary Irish literature, An Arrow in Flight shines a much-needed light on "a master of the genre" ( Los Angeles Times ) who has, for too long, remained in the shadows.

Mary Lavin is the great unsung voice of Irish fiction. Here are her very best, most electric stories: illuminating, moving, arrows in flight. ‘This is a wonderful collection, and a reminder that Mary Lavin was – is – one of Ireland’s greatest writers’ Roddy Doyle Mary Lavin’s stories feature ordinary people in the tight confines of ordinary life. From rural Ireland and the streets of Dublin they charm, irritate and intrigue in complicated brilliance, appearing to us with unique freshness. Good friendships, bad deeds, frustrations, missteps, hope and laughter are all found in captivating stories where real and astonishing things happen. Few women were so consistently published in the New Yorker and yet today Lavin’s work is largely unpublished and overlooked. This collection re-establishes her as one of the most genius, irresistible and memorable voices of the last century. SELECTED AND INTRODUCED BY COLM TÓIBÍN ‘She is, to come right out with it, magnificent’ New York Times ‘A feast of quiet humour and heartbreak’ Emma Donoghue ‘Mary Lavin's stories conjure sadness, profundity, hilarity and wildness out of thin air. They are simply masterful’ Colin Barrett ‘Mary Lavin’s stories are a delight. They are delicate, but not too delicate to carry tragedy on one shoulder and comedy on the other’ Sunday Times

Mary Lavin is the great unsung voice of Irish fiction. Here are her very best, most electric stories: illuminating, moving, arrows in flight. ‘This is a wonderful collection, and a reminder that Mary Lavin was – is – one of Ireland’s greatest writers’ Roddy Doyle Mary Lavin’s stories feature ordinary people in the tight confines of ordinary life. From rural Ireland and the streets of Dublin they charm, irritate and intrigue in complicated brilliance, appearing to us with unique freshness. Good friendships, bad deeds, frustrations, missteps, hope and laughter are all found in captivating stories where real and astonishing things happen. Few women were so consistently published in the New Yorker and yet today Lavin’s work is largely unpublished and overlooked. This collection re-establishes her as one of the most genius, irresistible and memorable voices of the last century. SELECTED AND INTRODUCED BY COLM TÓIBÍN ‘She is, to come right out with it, magnificent’ New York Times ‘A feast of quiet humour and heartbreak’ Emma Donoghue ‘Mary Lavin's stories conjure sadness, profundity, hilarity and wildness out of thin air. They are simply masterful’ Colin Barrett ‘Mary Lavin’s stories are a delight. They are delicate, but not too delicate to carry tragedy on one shoulder and comedy on the other’ Sunday Times