Reviews of Eddie Stack's work


The West

"Variously fantastic, comic, elegiac and nostaligic, Mr. Stack's fiction is versatile and engaging...a vivid, compassionate, authentic voice...securing (him) a place in the celebrated tradition of his country's storytelling."


New York Times Book Review   (full NYT review)


"Exceptionally fine tuned...an authentic voice of the migrant Irish."

San Francisco Chronicle

"Haunting stories filled with extraordinarily well sketched characters...Mr. Stack is a highly accomplished storyteller.”

                        Philadelphia Inquirer   

The West

“There’s a genuinely wild and fugitive comic sence in these tales that puts one in mind of Myles na Gopaleen as much as the salt spume dam, George Makay Brown. Never sentimental, often funny, always accurate, this is pithy, finely tuned writing of a high order.”

Robert Carver, Observer (UK)

Out of the Blue

"This second collection of short stories by Eddie Stack has a wonderful sense of unreality, of weirdness among Irish characters and of downright fun."

Irish Emigrant            (full review)


"Eddie Stack’s stories jet back and forth across the Atlantic, contrasting small town Ireland and big city US. Every time they land, the author seems to test the borderline of what might and might not be possible in downtown bars, crumbling dance halls and drizzly farms.
The result is a remarkably consistent collection of short stories.

Ian Wild, Southword               (full review)
The West CD

"This beautiful spoken-word CD would be worth buying for the backing music alone, which comes courtesy of Stack's fellow Clareman Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill. Hayes' wistfully keening fiddle is a perfect counterpoint to the stories here. Stack's gentle delivery and accurate feel for the rhythms of West-of-Ireland conversation (his rendition of two gossiping old biddies is hilarious) make the experience of listening to them a rare pleasure. One for a rainy winter night in by the fireside."

Sarah MacQuaid, Evening Herald


"Eddie Stack is a master of manipulating the listener's emotions and is also adept with voices. Each character is distinctly different and as you listen to the various voices, you will build more and more detailed images of the people they represent. Even without the music, Stack's stories would be mesmerizing! He is an exceptionally gifted storyteller."

Alicia Karen Elkins,  Rambles (US)            (full review)


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