The Queen of Dirt Island

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The Queen of Dirt Island
Author Donal Ryan
LanguageEnglish
Publication date
2022

The Queen of Dirt Island is a 2022 novel by Irish writer Donal Ryan.

Contents

Writing and publication

Ryan based Eileen Aylward, the "Queen" of the book's title, "loosely but quite faithfully" on his mother. [1] Upon reading an early draft of the novel, Ryan's mother did not recognize the character as inspired by her. [2] Ryan did not set out to write a book that "centers" women. [1] Ryan attributed the book's focus on women in part due to the fact that aspects of a central character, Saoirse, came to him "easily". [1] Ryan further attributed the focus on women to his childhood, during which women in his family and local area were strong presences. [1]

Ryan deliberately wrote each chapter to include exactly 500 words after writing several vignettes, later included in the novel, that were roughly this length. [1] The vignettes were inspired by the novels Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell. [3] He began work on The Queen of Dirt Island after sharing a draft of a "much longer and much darker novel" with his publisher, which his publisher declined to edit without substantial changes. [1] Ryan wrote The Queen of Dirt Island in 12 weeks. [3]

Reception

Amy Bloom, in a review published by The New York Times Book Review , praised the novel, referring to its short chapters as a "satisfying chain". [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Louise Kelly, Mary (6 March 2023). "Growing up in a kitchen full of women inspired Donal Ryan's new book". NPR. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Brennan, Marjorie (6 November 2022). "Book Interview: Donal Ryan - the boy born to be a writer". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 Ingle, Róisín Ingle's face Róisín (20 August 2022). "The author's imagination has been shaped by the landscape of north Tipperary — and the women in his life". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Bloom, Amy (27 February 2023). "All of Life's Griefs and Joys, in 4 Generations of Women". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
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