"Farrelly does an effective line in mood and intrigue as she weaves her narrative magic, effortlessly drawing the reader ever further into the unsettling tales she has fashioned. A collection at once bold and playful, and brimming with the assurance of a writer in command of her craft."—Alan McMonagle, author of Psychotic Episodes
"These are cosmopolitan stories. The heart of the action is in the city of modern anxiety and betrayal, where the quest for love and truth is played out in the settings where our most significant moments often unfold: in apartments, in cafes, on the internet and in the physical world of night streets. The modern relationship is ever in peril, the path forward uncertain and, in Farrelly’s hands, these tightly-woven tales contain a fabular message. Her characters may venture where angels fear to tread, and the result is contemporary, upbeat and very very knowing."—Mary O’Donnell, author of Empire
Description
Tanya Farrelly’s debut short fiction collection, When Black Dogs Sing, introduces us to an intriguing range of twenty-first century Irish characters. A young woman rents a room, to her boyfriend’s horror, in the home of an eccentric, bi-curious photographer; a poet attends a party at his girlfriend’s family home to discover that the invite was made with nefarious intention; a husband is outraged to discover that his wife is posing at a life drawing class; two girls break into the flat of an internet date and stumble on a dangerous secret; a stakeout ends in dire consequence when a friendship comes undone; a woman leaves home on a freezing night in the hope of gaining her partner’s attention; and in the title story a mother is haunted by her son’s disappearance.
About the Author
Tanya Farrelly works as an EFL teacher, and facilitates creative writing classes for South Dublin County Council. Her stories have won prizes and been shortlisted in such competitions as the Hennessy Awards, the RTÉ Francis Mac Manus Awards (2002/2015), Fish and the Cúirt New Writing Prize. Runner-up in the William Trevor International Short Story Competition in both 2008 and 2009, her stories have appeared in literary journals such as the Cúirt Annual, Crannog magazine, and the Incubator Journal. She is also the author of the novel The Girl Behind the Lens. When Black Dogs Sing is the winner of the Kate O’Brien Award.
April 2017