Ice Fishing in Donegal - Paperback

by Malcolm McDowell Woods (Author)

An aging Irish poet chasing ghost words, a foul-mouthed octopus seeking freedom, a homeless man with an unlucky ferret, and a young beauty pageant entrant chasing fame and fortune, are but a few of the disparate cast of characters to be found in this collection. What unites them all is their humanity (yes, even the octopus). These are stories of lost souls seeking a home, of survivors scraping out their own place in the world or, at least, a better understanding of what it means to be alive. Some, like the pizza-parlor accordionist in Giuseppe's Lament, the grown-up miracle baby from A Landing and the visual artist in Falling Apart, will experience unexpected revelations which expose the underlying interconnectedness of our existence. Others, like the young boy in pre-Troubles Northern Ireland, the gifted pianist with sleep issues and the man returning to his family's old Wisconsin homestead, will also undergo a shift in perspective.

The stories and poems in Ice Fishing in Donegal offer glimpses into ordinary lives made extraordinary. They tell us we all carry stories and that even the most mundane of moments holds the secrets of the universe.