Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by LitHub and The Millions! From one of the most engaging and brilliant writers of our time comes a "not to be missed" (LitHub) collection of eleven essays about growing up in Ireland during radical change; about cancer, priests, popes, homosexuality, and literature. "
IT ALL STARTED WITH MY BALLS." So begins Colm T鏙b璯's fabulously compelling essay, laced with humor, about his diagnosis and treatment for cancer. T鏙b璯 survives, but he has entered, as he says, "the age of one ball." The second essay in this seductive collection is a memoir about growing up in the 1950s and '60s in the small town of Enniscorthy in County Wexford, the setting for many of T鏙b璯's novels and stories, including
Brooklyn, The Blackwater Lightship, and
Nora Webster. T鏙b璯 describes his education by priests, several of whom were condemned years later for abuse. He writes about Irish history and literature, and about the long, tragic journey toward legal and social acceptance of homosexuality.
In Part Two, T鏙b璯 profiles three complex and vexing popes--John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. And in Part Three, he writes about a trio of authors who reckon with religion in their fiction. The final essay, "Alone in Venice," is a gorgeous account of T鏙b璯's journey, at the height of the pandemic, to the beloved city where he has set some of his most dazzling scenes. The streets, canals, churches, and museums were empty. He had them to himself, an experience both haunting and exhilarating.
"A tantalizing glimpse into T鏙b璯's full fictional powers," (
The Sunday Times, London)
A Guest at the Feast is both an intimate encounter with a supremely creative artist and a glorious celebration of writing.
