Books from Ireland
Writing from Ireland moves between the novel, poetry, memoir and travel tale. The books here come from a tradition that includes modernist fiction and nature verse, and they are set in Dublin, the countryside and places beyond. The lists below start with one book in each Atlas genre.
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Contemporary Fiction
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Ulysses by James Joyce
A modernist novel that follows a single day in Dublin, 16 June 1904, through the lives of Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus.
- Normal People by Sally Rooney. A contemporary novel about two young people in Ireland whose lives keep crossing.
Mystery & Thriller
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The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
A mystery thriller set around a police investigation in Galway.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
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Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
A satirical travel tale in which a ship's surgeon visits strange lands and peoples.
- At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien. A comic novel that mixes Irish myth, tall tales and several nested stories.
Poetry
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The Wild Swans at Coole by W. B. Yeats
A poetry collection that includes poems on swans, age and the Irish landscape.
- Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney. A poetry collection about rural childhood, nature and family life in Northern Ireland.
Memoir & Nonfiction
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Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan
A memoir about his time in a British borstal as a young republican.
- Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain. A memoir about growing up in Ireland and working as a journalist in Dublin.
How we choose
These lists start from books Atlas Unread readers can stamp for Ireland. Each title and author is confirmed against Wikidata, Wikipedia or library records before it is listed.