Jennifer Johnston Bücher

Die irische Schriftstellerin Jennifer Johnston ist bekannt für ihre subtilen Romane, in denen sie mit einem ungewöhnlichen, sparsamen Stil schicksalhafte Freundschaften vor dem Hintergrund der dramatischen Geschichte ihres Landes einfängt. Eine ihrer bekanntesten Geschichten ist "Opuštěné nádraží", die von Helena erzählt, die nach dem unerwarteten Tod ihres Mannes, der im Nordirland versehentlich erschossen wurde, über die Grenze in die Irische Republik zieht, um zu vergessen und ein neues Leben zu beginnen. Zu ihrem Entsetzen erkennt sie, dass sie ein leeres Leben geführt hat und sich langsam, trotz anfänglicher Skepsis, mit einem älteren Engländer, dem exzentrischen Besitzer eines stillgelegten Bahnhofs, anfreundet. Das innere Drama zweier einsamer Menschen entwickelt sich schließlich zu einer späten Liebe. Diese meisterhafte Prosa ist eine erschreckende Anklage gegen den sinnlosen mörderischen Terrorismus, der heute das Schicksal aller Europäer bestimmt.

In einem Haus mit Blick auf die Bucht von Dublin werden Mimi und ihre Tochter Grace durch das unerwartete Erscheinen von Graces Tochter Polly und ihrem neuen Freund aus der Bahn geworfen. Die Ereignisse der nächsten Tage zwingen beide dazu, die Form ihres Lebens neu zu überdenken.

What starts as a class trip to the aquarium ends in the depths of the ocean, where the class has to escape from the jaws of a great white shark. Ms. Frizzle teaches the class about different shark species, including the goblin shark, angel shark, and the enormous whale shark. Illustrations.

In 1920, 18-year old Nancy Gulliver befriends a mysterious stranger and unwittingly becomes involved in the bloody conflict between the English and the Irish. (Nancy Pearl)

Avery isn't everyone's idea of a model Presbyterian minister. A Velvet Underground fan and student of stand-up comedy, the former bank-worker can't quite get used to being ?Reverend?. Then there's his difficulty remembering biblical quotations . . .Despite all this, Avery has absolute faith in his ability always to know the right thing to do. Until, that is, a man appears in his east Belfast church and confesses to murder. The only problem is ? this man can't remember where, when or why he killed. Avery commits himself to finding out the truth of what happened, but if this stranger seems hampered by the limitations of his own memory, then the minister's hands are tied by his professional and personal responsibilities ? and, as Avery soon realizes, neglecting his own concerns could have disastrous consequences .

"Annie's father is dead. She isn't sorry. A rich and domineering man, his chief passion was money and, long ago, when his lovely, fragile wife died suddenly, he set Annie to school in England and insisted that her mother was never mentioned again. But now his tyranny is over. And so Annie returns to Dublin, to the family house she hates, and discovers that, just when she thought she was free of her father, he has left her the house and intends her to live as he would have wished. Does she dare to defy him one more time? And whom can she trust to tell her the truth about her mother's life, and death".

'One of Ireland's finest writers' Sunday Tribune

The explosive new novel by a master of Irish fiction

Johnny, an outstanding young swimmer, went missing nearly thirty years ago: drowned, or so everyone except his sister Imogen believes. How could this have happened? Encouraged, pushed even, from a child by his father, Johnny could have made the Olympic team, couldn't he? As Imogen gradually pieces together bits of her family history, we hear the tragic echoes that connect her with the Great War and Ireland in the nineteen-twenties.

Constance Keating has lived a life of exile alienated from her family and from Ireland. Now she has returned home to die. While that process takes place she replays the fragments of her past. And, as the Christmas tree awaits its day, so she also waits, hoping that the outcome will be on her terms.

As a child Alec, heir to the big house and only son of a bitter marriage, formed a close friendship with Jerry, a village boy who shared his passion for horses. In 1914 both enlisted in the British Army - Alec goaded by his beautiful, cold mother to fight for King and Country, Jerry to learn his trade for the Irish Nationalist cause. But amid the mud of Flanders, their relationship is tested by an ordeal beyond the horror of the battlefield...

Wie sich in Finbars Hotel die Schicksale der Gäste kreuzen, ist ein höchst vergnügliches literarisches Detektivspiel mit der ganzen Fabulierlust Irlands. Jedes Kapitel des Romans wird von einem bekannten irischen Autor erzählt: von Dermot Bolger, Colm Tóibín und Joseph O'Connor bis Roddy Doyle. 'Eines der unterhaltsamsten und geistreichsten Bücher, die aus Irland zu uns gekommen sind.' Hamburger Abendblatt

On a rainy afternoon on Killiney Hill a young man walking, without his overcoat, happens upon a woman gazing out over Dublin bay, standing perilously close to the edge. From their testy encounter develops a remarkable friendship which will enable each to face afresh their very different, damaged pasts, and to look, however tentatively, towards the future.

Op een avond in 1995 logeren enkele uiteenlopende figuren in een verlopen hotel in Dublin. Geschreven door zeven Ierse auteurs, maar het is aan de lezer te raden wie wat schreef.

Once, the villagers would tip their hats respectfully when the McMahons drove out through the ornate iron gates at the end of the drive. Now, when the estate is in a state of peaceful decay, Minnie returns home, disrupting the tranquillity.

Ve středu pozornosti irské spisovatelky Jennider Johnstonové, kterou znají naši čtenáři z novely Opuštěné nádraží, jsou nečekaná osudová přátelství, která na pozadí dramatických dějin její země vypovídají o podstatě lidské přirozenosti a lidském údělu. Osud starého pána, jehož svět je zalidněn postavami minulosti – jeho zanedbanou ženou, chladným, netečným otcem a atraktivní matkou, milující jeho bratra – je náhle narušen příchodem drzého venkovského zrzka, jenž příslibem přátelství zažene stíny minulosti. Elegantní, subtilní, mistrovská, dojemná, to jsou přívlastky, kterými kritika charakterizovala tuto prózu, evokující naše osobní selhání, odpuštění i naději.

Málokdo dokáže vyjádřit smutný osud Irska a skloubit ve své tvorbě soukromé problémy s politickými – navíc s humorem a bez náznaku sentimentality – jako Jennifer Johnstonová. Stíny na kůži jsou příběhem mladého Joa Logana, kterého trýzní neustálé požadavky jeho otce, někdejšího hrdiny a nyní slabého, vyčerpaného muže. Ve škole Joe jen sní v očekávání lepších časů, kdy utichne střelba a noci už nebudou plné děsivého strachu. Porozumění a kamarádství najde u Katheen, učitelky z nedaleké školy. Když se ale náhle vrátí z Londýna jeho starší bratr Brendan se zbraní a spoustou tajemství, pocítí Joe děsivou brutalitu války a jeho snům je provždy konec.