Books with author Donna Ryan

A breathtaking and redemptive novel from the award-winning and Man Booker nominated author Donal Ryan Melody Shee is alone and in trouble. At 33 years-old, she finds herself pregnant with the child of a 17 year-old Traveller boy, Martin Toppy, and not by her husband Pat. Melody was teaching Martin to read, but now he’s gone, and Pat leaves too, full of rage. She’s trying to stay in the moment, but the future is looming, while the past won’t let her go. It’s a good thing that she meets Mary Crothery when she does. Mary is a bold young Traveller woman, and she knows more about Melody than she lets on. She might just save Melody’s life. Following the nine months of her pregnancy, All We Shall Know unfolds with emotional immediacy in Melody’s fierce, funny, and unforgettable voice, as she contends with her choices, past and present.

A breathtaking and redemptive novel from the award-winning and Man Booker nominated author Donal Ryan Melody Shee is alone and in trouble. At 33 years-old, she finds herself pregnant with the child of a 17 year-old Traveller boy, Martin Toppy, and not by her husband Pat. Melody was teaching Martin to read, but now he’s gone, and Pat leaves too, full of rage. She’s trying to stay in the moment, but the future is looming, while the past won’t let her go. It’s a good thing that she meets Mary Crothery when she does. Mary is a bold young Traveller woman, and she knows more about Melody than she lets on. She might just save Melody’s life. Following the nine months of her pregnancy, All We Shall Know unfolds with emotional immediacy in Melody’s fierce, funny, and unforgettable voice, as she contends with her choices, past and present.

Donal Ryan's short stories pick up where his acclaimed novels The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December left off, dealing with dramas set in motion by loneliness and displacement and revealing stories of passion and desire where less astute observers might fail to detect the humanity that roils beneath the surface. Sometimes these dramas are found in ordinary, mundane situations; sometimes they are triggered by a fateful encounter or a tragic decision. At the heart of these stories, crucially, is how people are drawn to each other and cling to love when and where it can be found. In a number of the these stories, emotional bonds are forged by traumatic events caused by one of the characters - between an old man and the frightened young burglar left to guard him while his brother is beaten; between another young man and the mother of a girl whose death he caused when he crashed his car; between a lonely middle-aged shopkeeper and her assistant. Disconnection and new discoveries pervade stories involving emigration (an Irish priest in war-torn Syria) or immigration (an African refugee in Ireland). Some of the stories are set in the same small town in rural Ireland as the novels, with names that will be familiar to Ryan's readers.In haunting prose, Donal Ryan has captured the brutal beauty of the human heart in all its failings, hopes and quiet triumphs.

Donal Ryan's short stories pick up where his acclaimed novels The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December left off, dealing with dramas set in motion by loneliness and displacement and revealing stories of passion and desire where less astute observers might fail to detect the humanity that roils beneath the surface. Sometimes these dramas are found in ordinary, mundane situations; sometimes they are triggered by a fateful encounter or a tragic decision. At the heart of these stories, crucially, is how people are drawn to each other and cling to love when and where it can be found. In a number of the these stories, emotional bonds are forged by traumatic events caused by one of the characters - between an old man and the frightened young burglar left to guard him while his brother is beaten; between another young man and the mother of a girl whose death he caused when he crashed his car; between a lonely middle-aged shopkeeper and her assistant. Disconnection and new discoveries pervade stories involving emigration (an Irish priest in war-torn Syria) or immigration (an African refugee in Ireland). Some of the stories are set in the same small town in rural Ireland as the novels, with names that will be familiar to Ryan's readers.In haunting prose, Donal Ryan has captured the brutal beauty of the human heart in all its failings, hopes and quiet triumphs.

This is a story of two sweethearts, their meeting, and their life.This story would never have happened if Don had not asked Nancy at the last minute to go with him to the prom. Nancy had been praying that God would provide a suitable date for the Prom. Don came out of the nowhere he gave her a handcrafted note to meet him after Physics class for lunch. At a party during a spin the bottle game and got to kiss Nancy the first time. Neither forgot this encounter. Nancy was a cute little brunette with an infectious smile. Don called the “Shadow of your smile”. Nancy accepted the lunch invitation. When at lunch Don ask Nancy to go to the Prom with him. Nancy said, “In a surprised look and haltingly said yes”. Don did think he was up to Nancy’s standards and was equally surprise when Nancy said, “yes”.Don was a well-built young man lettering in all sports. However, the last two years of school he was scarce around the campus but was in the top of his class scholastically. Many of the female classmates had their eyes on Don. Don asked if he could take Nancy home to meet her mother. He, also, asked Nancy to go to breakfast in the morning. Nancy said, “I don’t why because it is Saturday”. Don told Nancy he would like to show Nancy how he made his living. He wanted to keep her until 5:00 PM, and Nancy was assured she would not be bored. She did know it yet but was about to go on the most usual breakfast date of her young life. Ask God your needs, believe him and hang on for the ride!

This is the story of two sweethearts, their meeting, and their life together. This story would not have happened if the author hadn't waited until the last minute to ask Nancy to go with him to the senior prom. The story is part fiction and part true experience. At a party, during a spin-the-bottle game, Don got to kiss Nancy for the first time. Neither one forgot that magical moment. Nancy was a cute little brunette with an infectious smile. Don was a strong, well-built man whom girls noticed. He was active in football and track. It seemed Don's interests lay outside of school. By January, most girls had their dates for the prom. Nancy's dream had come true. Don met Nancy in the hallway and asked her if he could have lunch with her. She haltingly said yes. After lunch, Don invited Nancy to the stadium and asked her to prom. She again said yes. Then Don asked if she would like to go to breakfast in the morning. Again, with that same look, she said yes. So Don picked her up at 7:30 a.m. and they went to the Akron Municipal Airport, instead of a local restaurant. They went into the Southern Airway/Mail office, and she found out the other side of Don. He was going to fly the mail and Nancy to Cleveland. There they would have breakfast. Ask God your needs, and then hold on.

This is a story of two sweethearts, their meeting, and their life.This story would never have happened if Don had not asked Nancy at the last minute to go with him to the prom. Nancy had been praying that God would provide a suitable date for the Prom. Don came out of the nowhere he gave her a handcrafted note to meet him after Physics class for lunch. At a party during a spin the bottle game and got to kiss Nancy the first time. Neither forgot this encounter. Nancy was a cute little brunette with an infectious smile. Don called the “Shadow of your smile”. Nancy accepted the lunch invitation. When at lunch Don ask Nancy to go to the Prom with him. Nancy said, “In a surprised look and haltingly said yes”. Don did think he was up to Nancy’s standards and was equally surprise when Nancy said, “yes”.Don was a well-built young man lettering in all sports. However, the last two years of school he was scarce around the campus but was in the top of his class scholastically. Many of the female classmates had their eyes on Don. Don asked if he could take Nancy home to meet her mother. He, also, asked Nancy to go to breakfast in the morning. Nancy said, “I don’t why because it is Saturday”. Don told Nancy he would like to show Nancy how he made his living. He wanted to keep her until 5:00 PM, and Nancy was assured she would not be bored. She did know it yet but was about to go on the most usual breakfast date of her young life. Ask God your needs, believe him and hang on for the ride!

An old man looks into the fearful eyes of a burglar left to guard him while his brother is beaten; an Irish priest in a war-torn Syrian town teaches its young men the art of hurling; the driver of a car which crashed, killing a teenage girl, forges a connection with the girl's mother; a squad of broken friends assemble to take revenge on a rapist; a young man sets off on his morning run, reflecting on the ruins of his relationship, but all is not as it seems. Donal Ryan's short stories pick up where his acclaimed novels The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December left off, dealing with the human cost of loneliness, isolation and displacement. Sometimes this is present in the ordinary, the mundane; sometimes it is triggered by a fateful encounter or a tragic decision. At the heart of these stories, crucially, is how people are drawn to each other and cling on to love, often in desperate circumstances. In haunting and often startling prose, Donal Ryan has captured the brutal beauty of the human heart in all its hopes and failings.