Another powerful Irish Literary Voice

Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch
Another powerful literary voice from Ireland.  Red Sky in Morning is a unique tale, but in another way, it epitomizes the tragic history and diaspora of the Irish people.  The protagonist, Coll Coyle, has been pushed too far. The landlord is about to evict him and his wife and new child from their hovel.  He decides he would try to talk to the landlord, but looses his temper and accidentally kills the landowner's son in the spring of 1832.  He is forced to abandon his wife and daughter and flee County Donegal for America.
Coyle is on the run, but the landlord’s sadistic henchman, John Faller, is a trained tracker, and manages to stay one step behind Coyle all the way to Philadelphia.  Faller is a relentless and sadistic killer.

This is a grim, but poetic story, that in so many ways illustrates the tragic story of the Irish immigrant.  First, circumstances force Coyle to leave his homeland and his family. Second, he books passage to America on a "coffin ship".  After a long sea voyage, Coll eventually arrives in America and finds work laying railroad track in Pennsylvania.  This work is scarcely less exploitative and brutal than what he was having to do in Ireland for a landowner. During this part of the novel, Lynch seamlessly weaves in an actual historical event. Use one of the library's databases and search for "Duffy's Cut", and read more about this tragic event in U.S. immigrant labor history about a choleric work camp along the Pennsylvania railroad.

Lynch's lyrical prose paints a vivid picture and builds suspense with this tale of a man on the run, and being doggedly pursued by a determined hunter/killer.  It will be interesting to see what this fresh young Irish writer comes up with next.  Stay tuned!