EV Kelly’s short stories have been broadcast on RTÉ and published in Crannóg. Her winning stories have appeared in the Irish Times, an anthology and online. She has been shortlisted for the Francis MacManus Short Story Award, the Hennessy Literary Awards and the SBP/Penguin Ireland Award. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2021. Her debut novel, Her Last Words, is published by Quercus.
There are two towers of books, ever rising, blocking the light from the lamp. I’ll pluck some from the top layers. Anne Tyler’s latest, French Braid, which I’ve just begun. Louise Kennedy’s collection of short stories The End of the World is a Cul de Sac. Meg Mason’s novel Sorrow and Bliss. Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These. Sarah Moss’s lockdown novel The Fell.
The first book you remember?
Treasure Island. My father read it to us when we were little, tucked up in our bunk beds for the night. He has a lovely voice and he was great at getting into character, bursting into song and building up the terror of the black spot.
Your book of the year?
Wendy Erskine’s latest collection of short stories, Dance Move. It’s a treat, each story uniquely startling and laced with subtle humour. I read it while in Dubai in February and there’s something about reading a home-based collection abroad: it sings in you differently, like a secret waiting to be shared.
Your favourite literary character?
I don’t have an overall favourite. However, I find myself thinking about Raymond Carver’s short story characters more than most, particularly the unnamed men in ‘Why Don’t You Dance?’ and ‘Fat’. They linger and they thrum in me.
The book that changed your life?
I don’t think there is one, but I found Stephen King’s On Writing immensely encouraging when I started down the writing path and I find myself dipping into it occasionally still – there are always little gems to be gleaned.
The book you couldn’t finish?
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I got half-way through Breathe by Joyce Carol Oates last summer on holiday in Connemara, but couldn’t finish. The novel is a deep dive into the ‘raw madness of grief’ and it’s wonderfully philosophical. It’s most likely the holiday context was wrong for that sort of a read. It sits on my bedside table.
Your Covid comfort read?
Humorous newspaper and magazine columns. My PhD was on Irish humour and social change – through the lens of Dublin Opinion, 1922-1968. The magazine’s motto was ‘humour is the safety valve of a nation’ and this holds true for me today.
The book you give as a present?
The one I’ve given most often in the last couple of years is Philippe Besson’s Lie With Me. The exquisite, haunting aches of first love.
The writer who shaped you?
Deborah Levy’s novels had a profound impact – so psychologically rich and evocative. I met her at the Dalkey Book festival a couple of years back and she signed my copy of Swimming Home with ‘Ellen – Swim!’, which I took as great encouragement.
The book you would most like to be remembered for?
My debut novel Her Last Words. I remember thinking, close to the end, what if something happens to me (pandemic thoughts) and it doesn’t get out there and people don’t get to know this story? I want people to know this story and thankfully it’s now happening.