Sins Of The Father

The Talbot lass

here must be something in the poitín around here, given just how many writers Greystones has produced.

And the fact that we are Ireland’s no.1 spot for self-publishing speak volumes too.

There are plenty who are getting literary agents and publishing houses all hot and bothered too, of course, and the latest one from around here is the mighty Catherine Talbot.

Originally scheduled to launch last April, Penguin decided it would be better to wait until February 2021. When this whole coronavirus pandemic would no doubt be a thing of the past.

As it happens, a twisted tale of dad who goes Full Cabin Fever on his family is more likely to tap into the subconscious of far more readers today than a year ago.

And the fact that Catherine’s A Good Father is getting the thumbs up from the likes of John Banville (an “intricately-made novel“), Jane Casey (“Exceptional… Deeply chilling“) and Joe Duffy (“Powerful, assured and a devastating new voice in Irish fiction“) means that the book is undoubtedly going to hit the spot with many people out there.

Especially those currently hitting The Shining: Level 3.

Revealing some of the inspiration behind writing this dark tale of jealousy and murder, Talbot explains, “Living my day-to-day family life is always in the background of what I write about, and how I imagine how things could turn out badly for any of us. Most of my best characters tend to be male and I enjoy imagining and exploring domestic space, and how men can think, and dominate that space.”

A familiar face behind the counter at The Village Bookshop, Catherine earned a Modular degree in English and Philosophy at UCD 20 years ago whilst also immersing herself in the arts and cultural industry in the big city. Raising her young children took over until five years ago, when Ms Talbot went back to college for a MPhil in Creative Writing, during which time she became literary fiction editor of the College Green Literary Journal. Along the way, with nominations for the likes of the UK Short Story Fiction Prize, The Fish Prize and the Colm Tóibín Short Story Award, Catherine’s work has been published by Banshee and, more recently, in the No Alibis anthology Still Worlds Turning.

Which all goes to prove, hey, the woman knows what she’s doing.

You can catch the launch of Catherine Talbot’s A Good Father on Zoom tonight at 7.30pm right about here, follow her on Twitter here, and go find out more about the book itself right here and grab it at The Village Bookshop here.