Touchy Subjects

April 3, 2006
In contrast to previous books focused on feminist retellings of fairy tales (Kissing the Witch
) and revisionist imaginings of historical and folkloric female figures (The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits
), Irish writer Donoghue's latest, a set of 19 witty tales, remains firmly planted in Ireland's present. Divided into five sections—"Babies," "Domesticity," "Strangers," "Desire," "Death"—the book has one unifying theme: the characters' constant need for revision—of assumptions, perceptions and expectations—in light of new information. In "Expecting," a woman re-evaluates her maternal instincts when a stranger misinterprets her condition. Elsewhere, a heartbroken young woman uses a trip abroad to indulge her fantasies of being Catherine Deneuve or Isadora Duncan, but discovers true healing in a more unlikely incarnation. In "The Sanctuary of Hands," a bitter, washed-up writer finds true genius during his yearlong residency, but not in the way he expected. Throughout, Donoghue offers deadpan asides about the trappings of the recent boom times in Ireland.