A Slanting of the Sun

Following the thunderous and worldwide success of his first two novels, The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December, Donal Ryan is back with a stunning new short story collection A Slanting of the Sun. Poignant, punchy and philosophical, these stories will now become an integral part of the Ryan oeuvre and establish him as a permanent fixture within the Irish literary canon. \n \n"RyanÕs skill with language flicks out slang and abuse with a masterly touch, though sometimes an oddly flowery or philosophical note breaks the spell." -The Irish Times \n \nThis remarkable new gathering of twenty stories spans the spectrum of society: from the small-town pub, to the squat, to the nursing home; from thugs, victims, cheats and asylum seekers, to the chronically ill. They encapsulate all that is so impressive about Donal RyanÕs writing and are replete with the rambling colloquial dialect, sharp sense of place and bursting capsules of character we have come to expect. Their wonderful tonality and vast emotional scope showcase RyanÕs ability to depict human frailty while maintaining dignity and integrity. He is an Ôambulance chaser with a soul.' \n \nIn Tommy and Moon, the narrator alludes to himself as a writer working on his next book, with a gorgeous story about a hawk; in The Passion, perversity blossoms in imperceptible steps; in The Squad, tiny problems are elaborated into struggles of great human poignancy; the character in Royal Blue is a brilliant little queen, full of spark and verve; and the unexpected twist in Losers Weepers is so skillfully executed it leaves the reader gasping. The title story, A Slanting of the Sun, carves a hollow of loss in the narratorÕs world, tracing the swell and fall of his faith. It breathes and sighs and sends shivers. \n \nA Slanting of the Sun, proudly published for the first time by The Lilliput Press, is sure to thrill Donal RyanÕs readers and win him many new ones. \n \nABOUT THE AUTHOR \n \nDonal Ryan was born in Nenagh in North Tipperary. His first novel, The Spinning Heart (2012), won the Guardian First Book Award and the EU Prize for Literature and Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. It was also shortlisted for the IMPAC International Literary Award and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The Thing About December (2013), RyanÕs 2015 short story collection A Slanting of the Sun (2015), ÊAll We Shall Know (2016) and From a Low and Quiet Sea (2018) are all published by Lilliput and available in a limited Dublin Edition format, unique to The Lilliput Press. Donal Ryan is a professor of creative writing at the University of Limerick and lives in Limerick with his wife and children. \n \n'Each unit of language has been scrupulously positioned, though the overall effect isÊof effortlessness.'Ê- SARA BAUME,ÊTHE GUARDIAN