Irish Crime Writing: Lost In Translation?

Glenn Harper over at International Noir is always worth listening to on the subject of crime fiction, and he recently ran the rule over Brian McGilloway’s latest, BLEED A RIVER DEEP, with the gist running thusly:

“It is Devlin’s empathy and conscience that make the books interesting and give them depth beyond the average police procedural … McGilloway deserves the attention he has been getting for his Devlin novels: he’s stretching the boundaries of the crime novel without condescending to the genre, and his novels deserve even wider recognition among crime fans and general readers.”

  For the full review, clickety-click here. Meanwhile, Glenn finishes up with a question:

“A question for those who know better than I what’s happening in the translations of the new Irish crime wave: are readers outside the English-speaking world getting access to the fine crime fiction of McGilloway, Declan Hughes, Declan Burke, Gene Kerrigan, etc?”

  Speaking for myself, I can only say that readers inside the English-speaking world aren’t getting access to my crime fiction, fine or otherwise, and I’d imagine readers in the non-English-speaking world will be waiting quite a while to read THE BIG O or any of its follow-ups. EIGHTBALL BOOGIE was published in France and Holland, much to my surprise and delight, and THE BIG O was scheduled to be published in Hungary, of all places, later this year, although the current economic climate has put the kibosh on that one. Boo, etc.   As for the other writers, I really can’t say if they’re being translated or not. Can anyone else help?
  One Irish crime writer who is definitely being translated is Benjamin Black, whose CHRISTINE FALLS I saw in a Bergamo bookshop during my recent trip to Italy. Funnily enough, the Italian version of CHRISTINE FALLS was published under the nom-de-plume ‘John Banville’. Cheeky sods …

“They Say The Fucking Smog Is The Fucking Reason You Got Such Beautiful Fucking Sunsets.”

Andrew Nugent is an interesting man, being a crime fic writer and a monk in Glenstal Abbey, and he had something interesting to say while reviewing Brian McGilloway’s BLEED A RIVER DEEP on the Op-Ed pages of the Irish Times during the week. Quoth Brother Nugent:

“I was so surprised at the frequency of the F-word that I began counting from page 168. From that point there were 55 sightings. Whatever about what real people do or do not say, with such glorious resources of vituperation available to us – especially in Irish – why repeat so obsessively these Anglo-Saxon grunts?”

  Now, the problem with insulting someone in Irish – as gaeilge – is that very few people are going to be offended, unless of course it’s the Irish-speaking few you’re trying to offend ...
  As for the Anglo-Saxon grunts – as Brother Nugent points out, this is how real people speak in the real world, particularly when they’re under pressure, which is how characters in crime fiction tend to be, particularly as the end of a novel approaches. So it’s possible to argue that an author who aspires to realism has no choice but to use foul language, and particularly ‘fuck’, that gloriously adaptable noun / verb/ adverb / adjective.
  You could also argue that foul language has its own poetry, and that there’s a rare joy to be had in reading a master of the profane (cf: the post title, courtesy of Ray Barboni, in the movie version of Elmore Leonard’s GET SHORTY).
  You could also say, ‘Fuck it, I just like the word “fuck”.’ Personally, I also like “shite”, “cunt”, “bollocks” and “me arse”.
  As always, I blame the parents …

McGilloway Or The Highway

Brian McGilloway (right): mild-mannered teacher by day, exquisitely-mannered crime writer by night. You don’t want to mess with him, he’ll give you detention … at the school of hard knocks!!! (dum-dum-DUM, etc.). Anyhoos, to celebrate the launch of his latest fine novel, BLEED A RIVER DEEP, Brian had his Top 10 Irish Crime Novels on The Guardian’s blog today. Quoth Brian:

“Crime fiction has taken off in Ireland over the past few years with a number of our best writers winning awards and making an impact on the international scene. If anything marks out the movement it’s the sheer diversity of sub-genres, from PI novels to police procedurals, by way of political satire and screwball comedy. And that’s not including John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series which is absent here only because it is set in the USA. Many of the recent group of Irish crime writers (myself included) cite Connolly as the inspiration that got them writing. As an introduction to this recent growth and range in the genre, here are 10 of my favourites from the past decade.”

  As you might well guess from the fact that I’m featuring said Top 10 on CAP, Brian had the extraordinary good taste to include our humble offering THE BIG O in his list. The Big Question: Did Benny Blanco (from the Bronx) make it? To find out, clickety-click here …
  And then come back here and tell us all what novel(s) Brian left out that should have made it in …

The Derry Heir

Yet more Brian McGilloway-related shenanigans, this time over at Suite 101, where they grill Derry’s heir to James Lee Burke to celebrate the upcoming launch of BLEED A RIVER DEEP. Asked about why his series protag, DI Devlin, is such a nice bloke, Brian basically says that his novels are heavily autobiographical, and that if anyone suggests he’s not the mildest-mannered crime writer on the block, he’ll shiv the mo-fo where the cut won’t heal. To wit:

“I’m a crime fan and understand why so many literary detectives are divorced, heavy-drinking mavericks. But I liked the idea of Devlin being different, happily married, not a drinker and that he would try to do his job properly. Also, at the time I wrote it, my wife was heavily pregnant with our first child. I was trying to balance work and a young family and thought it would be interesting to have Devlin doing the same. His mission is as a policeman making his immediate area safe for his own family.”

  For the rest, clickety-click here …

A RIVER Runs Through It

Brian McGilloway’s BLEED A RIVER DEEP isn’t actually out until April 3rd, but Crime Scene Scotland is out of the traps early with a rather nice review, with the gist running thusly:

“The character of Devlin himself is a fine creation and singles himself out from the herd of series characters constantly jostling for attention on the Crime Fiction scene. He’s a damn fine copper. Headstrong, sure, but balanced and professional. Maybe he doesn’t see eye to eye with his bosses, but he’s a family man with a strong moral streak in him. Don’t mistake any of this for dullness or weakness, however. When his moral code is challenged, Devlin rises to the challenge and pays the price professionally and sometimes personally for his dedication to the meaning of the job over the procedure of it all.
  “BLEED A RIVER DEEP was Crime Scene Scotland’s first exposure to the work of McGilloway, and given this tight, smartly written and gripping third novel, it won’t be our last.” – Russel McLean

  Nice. For your humble host’s take on said tome, clickety-click here …
  Meanwhile, the shy and retiring Brian will be appearing at Bristol’s CrimeFest and Harrogate this year, as will the equally reclusive Declan ‘Howard’ Hughes. The reticent duo will also be doing a joint reading in Waterstone’s, Dublin, at 6.30pm on Tuesday, April 14th, after which the pair will then hotfoot-ish North to Belfast, and No Alibis, for another gig, this time on Thursday 16th, at 7pm.
  Make the most of it, folks. You never know when, or even if, you’ll see the fawn-like pair peering doe-eyed out of the undergrowth again.

Yea, Verily, Herewith Be The Vibe-Ups

Today seems as good a day as any to quote from the Bible, particularly when I’m hearing good news about a couple of my favourite writers, to wit: “As the vibe-ups descendeth upon the brows of my brothers, so too am I vibed up, verily.” First out of the traps is John ‘transcending the Johnre’ McFetridge, who got the hup-ya from Quill and Quire. Quoth Johnre:

Quill and Quire, “Canada’s Magazine of Book News and Reviews,” picked 15 books from 2008 “to remember,” and EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE is one of them. The article says, “Some are critical favourites, some are bookstore blockbusters. Some dive into difficult subjects, some are about pure pleasure.” About EVERYBODY KNOWS they say it’s, “a sprawling portrait of a city that’s rare for any novel, genre or literary.”

  Hmmmm, nice. Meanwhile, a little birdie with a dulcet Norn Iron lilt tells us that Brian McGilloway’s Inspector Devlin series – currently BORDERLANDS and GALLOWS LANE, with BLEED A RIVER DEEP to follow in spring – has been optioned as a TV serial. Which is very nice indeed. What are the odds that Jimmy Nesbitt will play Devlin? Or, indeed, that Colin Bateman will take a hatchet to Brian McGilloway? Only time, that notoriously doity rat, will tell …
  Back down south, panting hotfoot, for the news that Colm Keegan’s play A NIGHT TIME CRACKLE will be one element of the latest Shoestring Collective jamboree. It all takes place on November 22nd, at the James Joyce Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1, and I believe the poster pretty much tells its own tale. For more details, clickety-click here.
  Finally, and in keeping with our Biblical-ish tone – is it just me, or does this guy doth protest too much?

Let It Bleed

Man, but it’s hard to keep up these days. Brian McGilloway’s debut BORDERLANDS has only just been released in the U.S., and already his publishers on this side of the pond are talking up his third offering, BLEED A RIVER DEEP, which appears early next April. To wit:

When a controversial American senator is attacked during the opening of a Donegal gold mine, Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin is blamed for a lapse in security. The shooting of an illegal immigrant in Belfast the same day leads Devlin to a vicious people-smuggling ring operating in the city. Then Leon Bradley, the young environmentalist who attacked the senator, is found murdered near the site of the mine. Devlin questions the group of itinerant travellers who have gathered around a nearby river hoping to strike gold themselves, and soon is becomes clear to Devlin that the mine is a front for something far more sinister. BLEED A RIVER DEEP is the new novel from one of the most acclaimed new crime writers on the scene: a labyrinthine tale of big business, the new Europe, and the dispossessed. Politics, industry and the criminal underworld collide in McGilloway’s most accomplished, most gripping and most sophisticated novel yet.

  Gold mines? Is it just me, or does McGilloway’s Donegal get more like Ye Olde Wild West with every book? It’ll be GUNFIGHT AT THE ACH-AYE CORRAL next …

The Life Of Brian II: This Time It’s Personal

Not content with having a bright ‘n’ shiny website, Brian McGilloway has gone and got himself one of them there newfangled blogging contraptions, courtesy of Macmillan New Writing, the first post of which runneth thusly:

“Hi all – Just thought I should introduce myself: I’m Brian McGilloway and my first novel, BORDERLANDS, was published by MNW in April this year. The follow-up, GALLOWS LANE, will be published on April 4th 2008 alongside the Pan paperback of BORDERLANDS. I’m currently writing the third Inspector Devlin novel, BLEED A RIVER DEEP, which I suspect will feature prominently in future posts on writing and the drafting process.
The Devlin books are being given a series look for the launch in April and now seems as good a time as any to unveil the first of the new covers – this one for the pb edition of BORDERLANDS. Hope you like it ...
And, in between times, Inspector Devlin makes an appearance in a new short story called The Lost Child, which will be broadcast on Friday 2nd November at 3.30pm on BBC Radio 4.”

Go on – scoot over there and leave a comment. It can get lonely out here in the deepest, darkest blogosphere …