Donal Ryan writes with such feeling and such talent. His melancholic descriptions are like nothing I have read elsewhere; he is an author with a unique and recognisable voice, such meaning, such depth at describing human emotions - his writing is magnificent.
I have read all of Donal's work; he is a true favourite of mine. I was delighted to see a crossover between the some of the characters from Strange Flowers, it was wonderful to watch these relationships entertwine and grow.
A stunningly beautiful read, another amazing piece of work from Donal.

The Queen of Dirt Island is a beautifully written collection of vignettes that tells the story of the Aylward women, three (and then four) generations of women who have created a life for themselves that feels so honest and I got totally swept up in it. Their home is full of love but the brutality in which they can speak to one another and yet you know that their relationship will not diminish is a real testament to Ryan's writing.

The book tells of all elements of life from death and marriage to betrayals and isolation, Ryan carries this along with the loyalty that each of the Aylwards show towards one another and each element is handled with such care. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to get swept up in a short book that you won't forget in a hurry.

The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan is a beautiful multi generational story told in short vignettes . Donal Ryan has become one of my favourite authors in the last few years and I was excited to get my hands on an advance copy of this book. I am delighted to say that it did not disappoint.
The book tells the story of four generations of women, their lives, their loves, their fights, their dreams, all in beautiful prose and memorable dialogue. Saoirse Aylward lost her father before she even had a name, killed in a traffic accident just days after her brought her and her mother home from the hospital. Eileen, a young widow with a tiny baby to care for is supported by her mother in law Mary. Eventually Saoirse grows up and becomes a mother herself, as a teen, to Pearl, the fourth of the generations in this story.
This book is about character and place, plot is barely a consideration, so if you prefer a plot driven book, this one may not be for you. If you are familiar with the author's previous works and writing style and are a fan, you will find much to enjoy here. Those who have read Strange Fruit may see some familiar faces, but it is not necessary to have read that book to enjoy this one.
The relationships between the women are the heart and soul of this book, the love and support is almost tangible, and these four strong and determined women really found a place in my heart. There are moments of great joy and great sadness , like there are in real life , and the author captures them wonderfully in this short but beautiful book. Aside from the four main women, there are many wonderful secondary characters, some of whom we meet only momentarily, others of whom appear throughout the book, all vividly brought to life through clever dialogue and description.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

What first of all struck me about this book was the gentle, lyrical prose that is told over very small chapters. These vignettes offer a glimpse into the world of a family and four generations. The book is set in The Republic of Ireland and is about powerful love and stories that bind the family together. For me, it is the first Donal Ryan book that I’ve read and this book has given me an appetite to look for my second.

How do Irish authors write such enchanting and effortless prose?
Like Ryan’s earlier novel ‘Strange Flowers’ this is another tale of family life, with an idyllic and timeless setting in the Irish countryside, beset by the small- mindedness of small rural communities. As usual with Irish writing, the story is never so important as the telling of it. The spellbinding prose and and often profane vernacular of the dialogue is character-driven, revealed through the family dynamics. It’s funny and compassionately poignant at the same time, and I loved it.

Simply wonderful. I expected great things and that is certainly what I got. I will definitely be recommending this to all.

Whenever I see a master craftworker (potter, carpenter, whoever), I’m always impressed by how they make their craft seem effortless. Donal Ryan is such a craftworker. He writes so that the words flow effortlessly on to the page, beautifully crafted and immensely evocative.
Each paragraph is like a prose-poem with each sentence creating a scene but without overwriting the images. It’s effortless to read even though Ryan tends towards the long sentence school of writing. He does this by tagging on multiple sub-clauses onto the main clause. However, this is not self-conscious experimentalism but a skilful way of drawing you into the story he’s telling you. Imagine yourself sat by the fireside while someone spins you a yarn. The yarn that Ryan is spinning is about four generations of women – Nana, Mother, Saoirse (main character) and her daughter, Pearl. The novel is structured through many short vignettes which tells the ups and downs of their rural lives. This is social realism telling the everyday stories of their hard-knock lives.
Any charm or quaintness of rural life is balance through the rough and raw events of a family getting by on the basics. This mitigates against any sense of cliched Oirishness. The tales of these women and their brothers, Paudie and Chris, are sometimes sad and heart-breaking, sometimes violent and foulmouthed.
But at times, I was longing for a bigger sense of a plot to be developed and for the vignettes to pick up a direction. But as Saoirse grew and developed as a mother and explored her own emotional fulfilment, I could see that a more formal plot would have worked against this organic portrait of four generations.
This is really great writing which I enjoyed immensely. If you feel that a full length novel of a family in rural Ireland composed of many short scenes is for you, then certainly give it a try.
I received a complimentary copy pre-release from NetGalley and here I have given my honest review.

This is a novel about the four generations of strong warrior Aylward women and is set in Nenagh, Co Tipperary from the 1980’s onwards. It starts on the day Saoirse is born when her father and paternal grandfather are killed. It focuses on the family left behind after the tragedy.There‘s Nana Mary, her daughter-in-law Eileen, grand daughter Saoirse and great granddaughter Pearl. They are all cut from similar cloth in that they are strong of spine and full of opinions. To paraphrase the authors words they’re an odd coven that stirs the pot which sums them up to perfection.

One of the greatest strengths of the novel is the first-class dialogue through which you not only hear them but also see them. Sometimes, you hear Nana a tad too clearly(!) though they all have their moments! You are fully engaged and almost transfixed by their interactions which are sometimes harmonious and sometimes not as they can argue with some ferocity.

You understand with clarity the bond of Mary and Eileen and how important they are to each other, the bond forged by their joint loss. These two seem to be the most sharply focused characters as they dominate the female branch of the family but also the extended one.

The tone at times is subdued, at others it melancholic as it is not always a happy tale but it captures the family perfectly and also what it is to live in rural Ireland where appearances are everything. It covers a lot of ground in its short length as it deals at various times with gun running, grief, loneliness and betrayal via the family dynamics and dysfunction.

It is beautifully written, it flows with elegance and with acute understanding of the characters. What we view is very powerful and at other times it’s understated and thoughtful. These people may be ordinary but Donal Ryan has made them extra-ordinary.

Overall, this character driven novel is lyrical and poetic, at others it is almost magical with short sharp chapters that are self-contained. The author has transported me to a country I love and one that he clearly does too. A wonderful novel.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK/Transworld for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island. I am a huge Donal Ryan fan and have loved every word ever written by the man until now. This book about rural Ireland and a single mother was a good read but for me not a great read. I found the unnecessary use of complex words in some circumstances off putting and out of character for the setting. The description of the lands and the people as always was stunning but the characters just didn’t hold the weight of his previous books. The link back to one of his previous books was interesting and I enjoyed a round picture encompassing the land issues all around our island. I look forward to reading more of Donal's work as he has an amazing talent of bringing landscapes alive.

Donal Ryan exquisitely explores an Irish family, four generations of women living together through the years in a small house on an estate in rural Tipperary, outside the town of Nenagh. All the Aylward women have a deep abiding love for each other, but you could be forgiven for not seeing just how mad they are about each other, you would have to see beyond the abusive and loud foul mouthed rancour and conversations that might be overheard by neighbours and other outsiders.

The novel is constructed of short chapters that provide a series of vignettes of the dramas of life, a vibrant picture painted of family and community, the tragedies, comedy, birth, love, loss, judgementalism and murderous impulses. In the Aylward home it is said 'You only get one life, and no woman should spend any part of it being friends with men. That’s not what men are for.'

There is Eileen, her dead husband's mother, Nana, her daughter, Saoirse, on occasions joined by Honey and Kit and Josh’s mother Moll, and Moll’s friend and alleged lover Ellen Jackman, and Doreen, all overflowing with love for Saoirse's almost immaculately conceived daughter, 'Pearl, the perfect little queen, fat with love.' Ellen Jackman says 'Aren’t we the queerest coven that ever stirred a pot?' Yes, from Strange Flowers we see the return of Kit Gladney and the return of her prodigal grandson and writer, Joshua, arriving with his girlfriend Honey. Josh and Honey become godparents to Pearl, there is Chris's surprising marriage to Doreen, Eileen's protective headbutting incident and Paudie's connections with the IRA. Eileen's family rejected and ostracised her, her brother Richard a real horror, a contemptible piece of work, a depiction of the poison, meanness and spite in the world.

One of the major highlights of Ryan's novels is his spellbinding lyrical prose, and then there is the dialogue that shines in his beguiling storytelling here. I loved this from beginning to end, savouring every word, the stellar characters of the women, astounding, battling the world, providing protection from the censorious, showing us what a family could be and what it may not be. This is a outstanding and beautiful read, of life, the joys, love, loss, grief, relationships, sex, laughter, the thrills and heartbreak, a book I highly recommend. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

The Queen of Dirt Island centres around the lives of the Aylward women who live in a small village in Co. Tipperary in Ireland. Mary Aylward is the stalwart of the family, witty, stoic and proud. Her daughter-in-law, Eileen Aylward, who tragically lost her husband (Mary's son) three days after her baby daughter, Saoirse, was born and Saoirse Aylward herself, who is the main protagonist, a quirky and sensitive woman who believes little in herself.

The story is set in the same world as Strange Flowers but is set in a later timeline. While it's not a series, I would highly recommend reading Strange Flowers first (which is exquisite) as a lot of the plot will be spoiled if you read QODI first.

The plot itself revolves around the three women, their lives and loves and the extended family. (If you like character driven stories with less of a plot, this is a book I would recommend.) We meet Mary's sons and Eileen's estranged brother, Richard and character's from the previous book, Strange Flowers, which have a big part to play in Saoirse's world.

The book isn't as lyrically written as Strange Flowers but has more wit laced throughout it. There is a lot of sadness in this book but it's dealt with stoically. Ryan has an unbelievable talent writing about human beings. He absolutely nails thoughts, feelings and emotions. You feel invested in the characters, you live their lives while you're reading about them and you care for them like you know them.

This book really resonated with me as I grew up living with my grandmother and my mother and I cried a lot at the end of the book. After reading the two books, I will truly miss the characters and reading about their lives and troubles. It is a book about forgiveness, hope and redemption. A simple book with huge heart.

We meet Eileen as tragedy strikes and her husband dies, leaving her and her two-week-old daughter Saoirse behind in a small community in Ireland. Eileen begins living with her mother-in-law and the story unfolds in short vignettes, detailing the life of these women as Saoirse grows into young adulthood.

It is a very quiet novel, and the characters are all very likeable so I can see why readers would fall in love with it. However, I did find that the very short chapters stopped me getting fully invested in their story, and the gentle pace was, well, a little too gentle for me at times. The writing was lovely, though, so I would certainly try more by this author.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Donal Ryan has over ten years and five novels (this is his sixth) become the shining light of the contemporary Irish novel. This one, which shares some DNA and characters with his last, begins in the early 1980s and follows four generations of women who are all connected by blood and family - though Saoirse is perhaps our central character - and their loves and lives as the decades progress.

Ryan, as he has shown in his previous novels, is a writer of incredible talent. There are passages here that I had to read twice, I found them that beautiful. There is a melancholic quality to his writing, and to the world these women live in, that does not make Ireland seem an appealing place to live in, but it feels so real, so truthful, that you are drawn to its beating heart.

I want a novel to show me something of the world and move me, and in this respect Ryan's latest is a total triumph.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

What wonderful characters these generations of women are, fierce, strong and full of love for each other. Ireland is a hard place for a woman but these women survive and thrive against the odds and it’s a great tale as well with unexpected twists and a great sense of place.

A marvellous laugh out loud book written in its own vernacular, somewhere between the poetry and profanity of the Irish, in all its gritty and irreverent glory. The small world of gossip and family bonds, feuds and rivalries is told with heart rending truthfulnesses, and hilarity. The characters are writ large, these ballsy women and missing men, held together through necessity and love. I loved it.

Donal Ryan has a way with words that just make you want to keep reading. ‘The Queen of Dirt Island’ is a quiet book about four generations of women in an unnamed Tipperary village and their lives spent living and loving together. The language is beautiful and Ryan’s descriptions of the local landscape are so evocative, even this Dub could visualise the fields and lakes that Saoirse and her family loved.

I loved the return of characters from his last novel, ‘Strange Flowers’ - a continuation of their story.

A gorgeous book and I’m definitely going to keep my eye out for Ryan’s back catalogue in the future.

I somehow didn't really expect to love this book as much as I did but GOSH I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!!!!!
It reminded me why I love lit fic and also the fact that I haven't been reading much of it for a while now.
This book has everything I love and I'll make a quick list to help you decide if it's for you:
- Beautiful and very lyrical writing style.
- Short chapters (all of them are only 2 pages long!!!!!!)
- Well-written, and lovable cast of characters.
- multi-generational story (FOUR in total!!!!!)
- love in all forms and shapes <3
- family dynamics and relationships
- Captivating storytelling
AND LOTS MORE!!!!
My favorite part was probably the various representations of womanhood and love. And of course, the writing style. :')
Highly recommend it to everyone, it is such a lovely and heartwarming book while also being heartbreaking. Heartbreakingly heartwarming is probably the right term, ugh I'm gonna be thinking about this book for a long time to come :')

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, set in Ireland. The characters were easy to get along with and the three women, eventually four, who shared their lives and their history were just great. They came across as strong, opinionated females and it did make me smile how the two older generations spoke to each other but didn’t mean a word of it.
Along with their strong personalities, they loved each other deeply and were very protective of each other. It was a different time in with a different way of thinking and not all actions and outcomes were accepted - but through thick and thin, they stuck together. There is sadness in this story too but the sort that makes a person stronger.
A thoroughly enjoyable and believable story. Highly recommended.

I absolutely loved this beautifully written book, which I read in a day. Another 5 star read from Donal Ryan. Many thanks NetGalley

Four generations of strong Aylward women live closely together in a village in Ireland. We follow their story throughout all their troubles, the good and bad parts. Throughout the story is a sense of belonging and love, they may not always agree with each other but when needed there is a sense of togetherness.