THE SPINNING HEART by Donal Ryan (fiction)

"The Spinning Heart" was nominated for the Mann-Booker Prize and was chosen as the Irish Book of the Year when it was first published in 2012.  Set in a small Irish town whose chief industry was a construction company which rose to dominance during Ireland's economic boom at the turn of the new century, the novel is a series of 21 vignettes, each comprising a chapter and each the story of a character, much like Anne Enright's "Green Road."

Now the recession has arrived and it is after the 2008 economic crash.  Each of the 21 characters has a tale to tell as we are privy to his or her internal monologue.  The characters know each other and are loosely connected through their previous jobs or family.  The first chapter introduces us to Bobby Mahon who was the foreman at the construction company.  We discover right away that the boss, Pokey Burke (and son of the owner) has fled the scene after he destroyed the company through his dishonest dealings which affected the lives of all his laborers who were left pensionless. Bobby Mahon was at one time the lad about town with a bright future.  His story is the thread which runs though all the other tales of dysfunctional families, alcoholism, poverty, and desperation.  Bobby is loyal to a father whom he hates but can't abandon.  "I go there everyday to see is he dead and every day he lets me down." His overbearing father has never been able to show the love that he does feel toward his family.

Looming over all at the edge of town is a new building estate, half-finished, abandoned and a sad reminder that at one time prosperity was around the corner.  It is reminiscent of others all over Ireland at the time.  One showed up in the Tana French book, "Broken Harbour."  In one of the few occupied houses, lives Realtin, a single mother who is desperate to make ends meet.  She and Bobby are thrown together by chance and a tragedy grows out of their innocent relationship.

Ryan writes of real people, not only the working class, but also teachers and lawyers who have lost their living because of the depression.  The voice of the characters is rich in West Ireland speech patterns and dialogue. The story is a reminder of the way life can change on a dime and the vagaries of fate.