That Old Country Music: Stories

"Irish author Kevin Barry has never shied away from the dark side, but he’s always had a touch of the romantic underneath his hard-boiled prose. In his new short story collection, he casts a wide net, writing about a varied cast of people – some hardened by life, some still vulnerable – living in western Ireland. He evokes the landscape of the human heart beautifully, but his greatest accomplishment is his understanding of the ways our collective psyche works. There’s not a bad story in this collection, and it’s as accomplished a book as Barry has ever written."