During the final two or three years of his life, I made many surreptitious recordings of John Joe as he sat by the fire. He was in the process of forgetting almost everything he'd ever known. He was fading out of the world and I wanted to record whatever it was he might say before it was too late... Set around a small family farm on the edge of a bog, a few miles from the river Shannon, Minor Monuments is a collection of essays unfolding from the landscape of the Irish midlands. Taking in the physical and philosophical power of sound and music, and the effects of Alzheimer s disease on a family, Ian Maleney questions the nature of home, memory, and the complex nature of belonging. A thought-provoking and quietly devastating meditation on family and loss. With echoes of Tim Robinson, Tara Westover and John Berger, Minor Monuments is a beautiful and unique literary experience.
Minor Monuments by Ian Maleney was published by Tramp Press on 28 March 2019.
As part of the #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour today, I am delighted to be able to offer one copy as a giveaway.
Entry is simple; just fill out the competition widget at the end of the post.
UK/IRELAND Entries only please.
GOOD LUCK!
PRAISE FOR MINOR MONUMENTS
'Minor Monuments is beautifully poised between the vivid recollection of experience and subtle reflections on the nature of memory itself. Ian Maleny writes with both a poetic serenity and a starting immediacy, a combination as rare as it is absorbing.' --Fintan O Toole
'Minor Monuments is brilliant, pulsing with intellect and insight, with each observation composed so beautifully as to be deeply moving. This is the kind of book that changes its reader.' --Lisa McInerney
'These essays are thoughtful, precise, beautifully controlled, and with a nicely wry humour helping us along the way this is an extremely fine debut.' --Kevin Barry
'Minor Monuments is brilliant, pulsing with intellect and insight, with each observation composed so beautifully as to be deeply moving. This is the kind of book that changes its reader.' --Lisa McInerney
'These essays are thoughtful, precise, beautifully controlled, and with a nicely wry humour helping us along the way this is an extremely fine debut.' --Kevin Barry
IAN MALENEY is a writer based in Dublin.
Born and raised in Co. Offaly, he works as a freelance arts journalist, primarily for the Irish Times, and as the online editor at the Stinging Fly.
His essays have been published by Winter Papers, gorse, and the Dublin Review.
He is the founder of Fallow Media, an interdisciplinary publication for music, photography, and long-form writing on the internet.
Minor Monuments is his debut.
www.fallowmedia.com
Twitter @ianmaleney
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