Flame Angels: An Anthology of Irish Writing

All of the stories in Flame Angels have an Irish setting, but the characters and events will be recognisable to readers anywhere. Defining moments in the lives of eight young characters are captured, and may be summed up in the words of the youth in John McGahern's 'Christmas': I felt a new life had already started to grow out of the ashes, out of the stupidity of human wishes.' With the exception of the seven year-old narrator in 'True Believers' by Joseph O'Connor, all of the protagonists are not the cusp between childhood and adulthood. But the world of older generations is not necessarily appealing, and one has the impression that at least some of the young protagonists will endeavour to do things differently. The settings for the eight stories range from Dublin to Derry to rural Ireland, and span issues such as teenage runaways, a bullying teacher, the fifteen year-old footballer sent home from England - 'the boy with the golden touch and the brilliant future already behind him', and in several cases the interplay between youth and old age. Only two, 'Christmas' and 'True Believers', have previously been published.