504. The Trusting and the Maimed

The Trusting and the Maimed
James Plunkett
1955
Around 220 pages

Short story collections are acceptable on this List, if the book is obscure enough. I had never heard of James Plunkett, but he just might be my favorite Irish author after this entry. Considering he is up against Joyce and Beckett, it's sort of a no-brainer.

This is a collection of twelve stories that all take place in Ireland in the 40s and 50s. My favorite story was actually the titular "The Trusting and the Maimed" which partially took on the perspective of an injured bird, which is pretty damn creative. I also appreciated "The Scoop," where some Irishmen in a pub tell a gullible Englishman where to find the IRA. 

It's hard to measure this entry amongst the others on this List, as short stories are an entirely different ferocious beast from the novel, which is also a vicious creature (can you tell I have been trying to write a lot lately?). So I'll just say I enjoyed the stories, and it was fun to experience Ireland in a digestible way. You really get a better sense of the anger and resentment in a post colonial Ireland, when the language and grammar isn't so distracting.

Anyway, let's not make a habit of this, Powers That Be. There are rules here.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Plunkett grew up among the Dublin working class.

UP NEXT: A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen