Fishing the Sloe-Black River: Colum McCann

An ageing nun is tracked to ground by her sister; a garrulous beautician must lay out the corpse of a loved one.

These are eloquent tales of exile and displacement, of characters always in search of a way back home or of a way to leave it. Mischievous, assured and versatile, Colum McCann's collection of short stories marks him out as one of our best contemporary writers.