Only Wounded--Stories of the Irish Troubles

May 15, 2015
Originally published in 1997, these interrelated stories are linked by a common thread: the Irish Troubles that plagued Ulster between 1964 and 1994. Taylor, the author of the best-selling Irish Country series, delivers a searing collection of tales revolving around this catastrophic convergence of historical, political, and religious circumstances. Fracturing individuals, families, and a nation, the Troubles provide a vividly brutal backdrop for stories of ordinary people caught up in events and situations tragically beyond their control. Though each story can stand on its own, characters, themes, and grim newspaper clippings bind them together in a novelistic fashion. Taylor has a ready-made audience, and though these stories are markedly different from his beloved novels, he displays his signature empathy for a wide variety of characters trapped on either side or in the middle of the conflict.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)