{"title":"Sheila Armstrong","description":"\u003cp\u003eSheila Armstrong's work delves into the complexities of human relationships with a keen eye and lyrical prose. Her novels, including \u003cem\u003eFalling Animals\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Red Mouth\u003c\/em\u003e, offer poignant explorations of identity, memory, and the subtle tensions that shape everyday life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect richly drawn characters and narratives that balance emotional depth with moments of dark humour. Armstrong’s writing is a compelling journey through the ordinary and the extraordinary, set within the realm of contemporary general fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"falling-animals-by-sheila-armstrong-9781526635877","title":"Falling Animals","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA BBC 2 BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWATERSTONES IRISH BOOK OF THE MONTH JULY 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Vivid, sensuous ... A subtle tale of loss, loneliness and disconnection’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nPAUL LYNCH, \u003ci\u003eIRISH INDEPENDENT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Lush, lyrical and cleverly-constructed. A beautiful book’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nLOUISE KENNEDY\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Beautifully written ... An unchained sea-melody of outsiders, pilgrims and castaways’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nANNE ENRIGHT\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe disquieting story of an unidentified man as told by those who crossed paths with him on the last day of his life, Sheila Armstrong’s debut novel is haunting, lyrical and darkly suspenseful.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn an isolated, windswept beach, a pale figure sits serenely against a sand dune staring out to sea. His hands are folded neatly in his lap and there is a faint smile on his otherwise lifeless face. After months of fruitless investigation, the nameless stranger is buried in an unmarked grave, but the mystery of his life and death lingers on, drawing the nearby villagers into its wake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom strandings to shipwrecks, it is not the first time that strangeness has washed up on their shores.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs a chorus of voices come together to unravel the story of one man, alone on a beach, a crosshatched portrait begins to emerge, threaded by lives both true and imagined, real and surreal, past and present.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReader Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Beautifully written and gently catches the reader with its meditative prose and deep humanity’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Such a beautiful book’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Gorgeous wild setting and achingly recognisable characters’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46711388897516,"sku":"9781526635877","price":24.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16b4b25ecee7f4df0feb7b730eb7c277.jpg?v=1754267927"},{"product_id":"how-to-gut-a-fish-by-sheila-armstrong-9781526635822","title":"How to Gut a Fish","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL PRIZE 2022\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR SHORT STORY OF THE YEAR AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2022\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR ALCS TOM-GALLON TRUST AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Unsettling, unpredictable, and brilliant' \u003c\/b\u003eRoddy Doyle\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'In sumptuous and evocative prose, Sheila Armstrong writes stories that are unnerving and unsettling. Stories which make you go, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ewait, wait, what was that? '\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eClaire Fuller, author of \u003ci\u003eUnsettled Ground\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn a boat offshore, a fisherman guts a mackerel as he anxiously awaits a midnight rendezvous.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVillagers, one by one, disappear into a sinkhole beneath a yew tree.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA nameless girl is taped, bound, and put on display in a countryside market.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA dazzling and disquieting collection of stories, \u003ci\u003eHow to Gut a Fish\u003c\/i\u003e places the bizarre beside the everyday and then elegantly and expertly blurs the lines. An exciting new Irish writer whose sharp and lyrical prose unsettles and astounds in equal measure, Sheila Armstrong’s exquisitely provocative stories carve their way into your mind and take hold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Dark, devilishly well written and full of atmosphere, \u003ci\u003eHow to Gut a Fish\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the most original and affecting short story collections I’ve read in years' \u003c\/b\u003eJan Carson, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Fire Starters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46711883792620,"sku":"9781526635822","price":24.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/14865733482731.jpg?v=1754254358"},{"product_id":"the-red-mouth-by-sheila-armstrong-9781526691125","title":"The Red Mouth","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn absolute tour de force ... One of the most powerful writers at work today\u003c\/b\u003e COLIN WALSH\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhen the book burners knock on your door, this is one to hide in the flour barrel\u003c\/b\u003e ANNIE PROULX\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eI’ll read almost anything in sentences so finely made\u003c\/b\u003e SARAH MOSS\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSonglike in its beauty ... A work of uncanny power and great depth\u003c\/b\u003e LOUISE KENNEDY\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom a rising star in literary fiction comes a story of two discoveries made deep in an Irish bogland, threading together four lives across time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen a dog finds a strange, alien antler in a restored bog, the owner’s first thought is to keep it for himself. But when he realises the value of his find, he is drawn back to the rich peat to keep searching. It is not one stag skeleton that is buried there, but dozens – an ancient dying ground of the Great Irish Elk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOther things have surfaced from the bog: prehistoric settlements, bronze cauldrons, ancient butter, iron weapons – and the mutilated body of a two-thousand-year-old female. Fifty years ago, a young archaeologist named her Belroe Woman, and dedicated his life to telling the story of her sacrificial death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile state and public treat the bog body as a national treasure, others must reckon with its otherworldly influence over their lives: the peat-cutter who first unearthed her and carries this discovery like a curse; the archaeologist’s daughter who grows up in the shadow of the bog’s strange magnetism; and the young environmental scientist whose work draws her back to where it all began.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHaunting and lyrical, \u003ci\u003eThe Red Mouth\u003c\/i\u003e - \u003ci\u003ean béal rua\u003c\/i\u003e - is the story of two discoveries and the four strangers who become intertwined in their wake. The deep time of the bog is both mystical and sinister: those bound to it must decide what to bury - and what to unearth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeditative and profound ... Exquisitely written\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith elegant prose and quiet confidence, Armstrong has produced a novel of rare depth and originality\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eIRISH INDEPENDENT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48318077829356,"sku":"9781526691125","price":48.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781526691125-the-red-mouth-1.jpg?v=1788752666"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/sheila-armstrong.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}