Talk to the Headscarf by Emma Hannigan
Emma Hannigan has become a firm favourite of RTE’s Ryan Tubridy and he has chatted to her several times on his radio show, also having her guest on the iconic Late Late Show. Reading her book, it’s easy to see why her bubbly personality has captivated the talk show host. Hannigan, already the author of two novels, has put up with more cancer in her life than seems fair. Not even forty, she discovered in 2005 that she had the BRCA1 gene that left her at high risk for developing cancer. She opted for a double mastectomy and had both her ovaries removed, but cancer managed to find her anyway, and she has now battled with the dragon more than half a dozen times. In this life-affirming memoir she advises: “Laugh in the face of sickness, because there are no rules that state you have to lose the battle. Guess what? You might just win. I should know: so far I’m doing just that … Chin up, wig on – and don’t forget your skin can absorb an astonishing amount of make-up.” Like her previous novels, this is a highly entertaining read.
|
|
The Facility by Simon Lelic
One of the most exciting things that can happen to a reader is when a particular book strikes such a chord that you simply must sample everything else by the same author. This happened to me recently with the books of Jo Nesbo – to be reviewed in a future column – and again with Simon Lelic’s Rupture, chosen by Castlebar Book Club for discussion this month, and impossible to put down. Keen to delve further into Lelic, next on the reading list was The Facility, and it doesn’t disappoint. It is a much darker book than Rupture, which may be hard to believe, given the school-shooting theme of the former title. Henry Graves is a stalwart of the British prison service, but even he finds it hard to comprehend the existence of his latest place of work. A government facility, full of inmates who have no idea why they are there, and whose families don’t know what has happened to them, the building is hidden away in the countryside. When a curious reporter decides to investigate a little further on behalf of a woman whose husband has disappeared, it quickly becomes clear that the government will stop at nothing to protect their precious facility. Slightly reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, this is a book that will satisfy conspiracy theorists everywhere.
|
|
and Twitter