World Book Day: 9 globally famous Irish books that everyone should read

IRELAND IS well known for our creatives; poets, writers and artists are abundant on our shores and can be found in libraries across the world.

Everyone knows mega-famous books like Ulysses or The Picture of Dorian Gray, but there is a lot more to the Irish writing scene than just Joyce, Wilde or Beckett-- in celebration of World Book Day, and in no particular order, here are _ famous Irish books you should  add to your reading list.

1 Dracula - Bram Stoker

An absolute staple in classic horror which has inspired countless spin-offs in the 123 years since it was written, Dubliner Bram Stoker set the bar with this novel-- but to this day there are different theories as to where he got the inspiration for the book's famous titular villain.

2 Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

The at once heartbreaking and hilarious memoir of a man who grew up in desperate poverty in Limerick while dreaming of making a better life in America, Angela's Ashes has since inspired an award-winning film and, more recently, a brilliant musical.

3 Room - Emma Donoghue

Penned by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue, Room is an upsetting read, but unique in that it is told from the confined narrative viewpoint of a five-year-old boy, and which maintains a feeling of hope throughout. A film version of the bestseller was released in 2015.

4 Normal People - Sally Rooney

Sally Rooney burst onto the Irish writing scene with her novel Conversations With Friends, but it was her second novel, Normal People, that cemented her as one of the great modern Irish writers. The best-selling book, detailing the tempestuous relationship between two Irish teenagers, has since been made into a BBC Series.

5 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

 

A children's book which can be enjoyed-- or perhaps that's not the best description-- by anyone, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas takes place mostly at the electrified fence of a Nazi Concentration Camp, where two boys-- one inside, one outside-- form a forbidden friendship.

6 Dubliners - James Joyce

One of Ireland's favourite books, and possibly Joyce's most famous after Ulysses, Dubliners is a much more accessible, enjoyable and relatable collection of short stories for those who enjoy Joyce's writing and his depiction of Irish life without wanting to struggle through the 730 pages which make up Ulysses.

7 Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

One of the most famous classics, not just from an Irish writer,but of all time-- Gulliver's Travels depicts a hapless traveller who traverses the seas and meets people and cultures much unlike his own.

8 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - C S Lewis

If you're surprised to learn that C S Lewis was Irish, you might be even more surprised that the land of Narnia was inspired by County Down's expansive Mourne Mountains. Despite starring English-born characters and taking place (at first) during the Second World War in the English countryside, the Pevensie children, Aslan the Lion and the White Witch were imagined by an Irish mind.

9 Brooklyn - Colm Tóibín

While by now everyone has heard of the award-winning film starring Saoirse Ronan, not everyone knows that this brilliant coming-of-age story set after World War 2 first came to life as a novel, written by Colm Tóibín.