Backlist Beauties is a series where publishers talk about a book from their backlist that sings.
This week we have the luminous Are You Somebody?, by Nuala O’Faolain (New Island).
What we love about this book
When it first published in 1996, Nuala’s bestselling memoir created a space for Irish women to speak honestly and bravely about their lives, public and private. 25 years later, following the 2018 reprint with foreword by June Caldwell, Are You Somebody continues to resonate with and inspire readers, both new and returning.
A little flavour of what’s inside
The incredibly candid story of Nuala O’Faolain, born one of nine children into the penniless family of an overwhelmed mother and charming but absent father. One of Ireland’s best-known columnists, her professional success did little to ease her longing for a deep connection to the world.
She pushed at the boundaries of the confining Catholic Ireland she grew up in and has distilled her experiences into a wisdom that could come only from a woman who refused to shrink from life. A strikingly vivid and starkly emotional memoir, Are You Somebody? is, like O’Faolain herself, a singular example of courage, honesty, and bold living.
A line that sings
In front of me there is a vista – empty, but inexpressibly spacious. Between these two – landscapes of stone, and wide blue air – is where I am.
Cover design by: Anna Morrison
Are You Somebody|Nuala O’Faolain|New Island|ISBN 9781848406858
Previously on Backlist Beauties:
Accurate Measurements, by Adam White (Doire Press)
Upperdown, by David Brennan (Epoque Press)
Hope against Hope, by Sheena Wilkinson (Little Island)
Between Dog and Wolf, by Elske Rahill (Lilliput Press)
If you are a publisher or bookseller and have a title you’d like considered for Backlist Beauties, please get in touch with ruth@wordwell.ie
