Way Out West

Fintan Doherty's 1950s childhood in Glenbay, Donegal, is filled with two things: tales of America told by a plethora of 'returned Yanks' and the silent sadness after his mother's death. Soon as he becomes an adult, he leaves for the States - via Europe - and never stands still again. His journey way out west to Ohio and back up to Boston brings Fintan to an eclectic and diverse array of jobs, rented rooms, landscapes, acquaintances, friends and lovers, each one either confirming or confounding his idea of the land he now inhabits. His life as a new emigrant - a self 'missing in motion' - is underscored by his search for a painting of his mother by an American artist who once visited the home place long before Fintan was born. Although we first met Fintan in Nighthawk Alley (1997), Way Out West stands alone as an enchanting coming-of-age story of texture and world-building, many affectionately observed characters and Glavin's subtle reflections on trauma, loss and a hope that somehow renews.  

ANTHONY GLAVIN is a Boston-born novelist, short-story writer and critic. He first came to Ireland in 1974, living in County Donegal for many years. In 1987, he succeeded David Marcus as editor of New Irish Writing in the Irish Press, and he has previously worked as literary editor at New Island, where he commissioned Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody? His previous books include One for Sorrow and Other Stories (1980), Nighthawk Alley (1997) and Colours Other Than Blue (2016).