Academy Street by Mary Costello is this month’s selection for the Irish Times Book Club. Her debut novel, it won the Eason Novel of the Year honour at the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards in December and was also shortlisted for a Costa Award and the EU
Academy Street is the story of Tess, an Irish girl who emigrates from Galway to 1960s New York. The Costa judges called it “a remarkable debut with a transcendent, quiet power”. Irish Times reviewer Sarah Gilmartin praised “its elegant, restrained writing and masterly characterisation”.
“Costello’s debut calls to mind the work of Tóibín, particularly Brooklyn, his 2009 novel,” wrote Gilmartin. “Just as the shy and wistful Eilis Lacey crosses the Atlantic to take her chances in 1950s New York, Costello sends her protagonist, Tess Lohan, to the same city a decade later. The style and voice of both books are similar, the prose and tone lulling the reader before delivering an emotional punch.
“Comparisons can also be made to Claire Keegan’s excellent Foster. Both books are short on words but big on impact. Both have young narrators grappling with family and loss.”
Costello’s first short-story collection, The China Factory, from 2012, marked her out as a fresh voice in Irish fiction, unafraid of difficult themes. Published by the Stinging Fly, it was nominated for the Guardian First Book award.
On Friday, we will publish an essay by Mary Costello, in which she will explore some of the themes and inspiration for her work.
Academy Street was published in paperback by Canongate Books last month at £8.99
