The Wind that Shakes the Barleywater

I spoke to author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne on the eve of the release of his novel Noah Barleywater Runs Away about his success so far, his inspiration for his latest novel and the joys of writing.

Photo: Clara Madden

When I met John Boyne in The Morrison Hotel in Dublin the day before his novel Noah Barleywater Runs Away was being launched in the Gutter Bookshop in Temple Bar, he was notably nervous. This was his first novel for young adults since the overwhelming success of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which was translated into over 40 languages; was at the top of the Irish Book Charts for 80 weeks; made it to the top of the New York Times Bestseller list and was adapted into a high budget movie by Miramax. He apologised for the potential nerves at the start of our interview and I understood perfectly: there’s quite a lot to live up to.

Pulling on the Heart Strings

Ella Griffin has become the latest star writer in Irish women’s fiction. I caught up with the advertising executive in the Radisson Hotel in Dublin to discuss her breakthrough debut novel Postcards from the Heart.

Photograph by Brian Meade

Postcards from the Heart contains everything that’s right about good women’s romantic fiction and is a very impressive debut. At the heart of the book are two very different couples, Saffy and Greg and Conor and Jess and all of the people connected to them play vital parts in the story. The novel is in equal parts hilarious, gripping, a little bit weepy, and always engaging.