Songdogs

With unreliable memories and scraps of photographs as his only clues, Conor Lyons follows in the tracks of his father, a rootless photographer, as he moved from war-torn Spain, to the barren plains of Mexico, where he met and married Conor's mother, to the American West, and finally back to Ireland, where the marriage and the story reach their heartrending climax. As the narratives of Conor's quest and his parents' lives twine and untwine, Collum McCann creates a mesmerizing evocation of the gulf between memory and imagination, love and loss, past and present. Colum McCannwas born in Dublin in 1965. He has worked as a journalist, ranch hand, and teacher. Among the honors his fiction has received are the Hennessy Award for Irish Literature and the Rooney Prize. His other books includeFishing the Sloe-Black RiverandDancer. With only unreliable memories and scraps of photographs to guide him, Conor Lyons follows in the tracks of his fathera rootless photographeras he moved from war-torn Spain, to the barren plains of Mexico, where he met and married Conor's mother, to the American West, and finally back to Ireland, where the marriage and the story reach their heartrending climax. The narratives of Conor's quest and his parents' lives twine and untwine, creating a mesmerizing evocation of the gulf between memory and imagination, love and loss, past and present. "Powerful . . . wistful and gracefully shadowed . . . The author has a keen eye and ear; his language is full of sparkling poetry and images."Scott Veale,The New York Times Book Review "Positively vibrates . . . consistently engaging . . . remarkably beautiful."Peggy O'Brien,The Boston Sunday Globe "McCann . . . has unusual control over his material . . . McCann's take on the New World is fresh and often amusing, but what we remember most is the poignancy."Michael Harris,Los Angeles Times Book Review "An arresting new voice from out of Ireland, at once deep and dazzling."Edna O'Brien

Colum McCann was born in Dublin in 1965. He has worked as a journalist, ranch hand and teacher. Among the honors his fiction has received are the Hennessy Award for Irish Literature and the Rooney Prize. His new book, a collection of stories, is Fishing the Sloe-Black River. He currently lives in New York.

"Powerful . . . wistful and gracefully shadowed . . . The author has a keen eye and ear; his language is full of sparkling poetry and images."-- Scott Veale, The New York Times Book Review

"Positively vibrates . . . consistently engaging . . . remarkably beautiful."--Peggy O'Brien, The Boston Sunday Globe

"McCann . . . has unusual control over his material . . . McCann's take on the New World is fresh and often amusing, but what we remember most is the poignancy."--Michael Harris, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"An arresting new voice from out of Ireland, at once deep and dazzling."--Edna O'Brien