Aisling Keogh
Aisling Keogh is a writer and psychotherapist, who lives in County Galway. Her short stories and poetry have been published with The Irish Independent, The Honest Ulsterman, Crannog Magazine, Wordlegs, Ropes, Bangor Literary Journal, A New Ulster, and in several anthologies. Her first published short story was shortlisted for the Hennessy Irish Literary Awards 2011, and she has also been shortlisted for the Doolin Writers Weekend Short Story Competition. She is currently working on her second novel.
Who was the first writer you ever got into?
As a child of the seventies and eighties, Enid Blyton. I read everything Tallaght library had of The Famous Five and The Secret Seven (who I thought were by far superior). I remember The Wishing Chair being a particular favourite too, we had a chair that looked just like the one on the cover, and I hoped and dreamed it would take me on an adventure some day. I also loved Little Women, and had read that, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights, by the time I was ten.
As an adult, I believe it’s Alice Walker. I studied English in Galway University when it was still University College Galway, and an elective on Literature of the American South led me to her. The Colour Purple remains one of my all-time favourite books.
What book have you reread more than any other?
Wally Lamb’s I Know This Much Is True. I first read it in 2000, and since then I’ve re-read it every three to four years. It’s the story of Dominic Birdsey and his twin brother Thomas, and moves between contemporary Connecticut and 19th century Italy with ease. It’s an absolute master class in world building, as well as a stunning and painful depiction of how we carry other the traumas of other generations. It’s tragic, but ultimately uplifting. If I’m at a place where I’m not reading or not writing, this is my cure.
What’s the strangest book you’ve ever loved?
The first book to mind is David Szalay’s Flesh, which I read last Christmas. It’s the story of a man and his life. No big suspense or plot reveals, just a story told as matter-of-factly as can be, and strangely compelling.
Who is your favourite contemporary writer?
It’s difficult to pick just one, so I’ll mention two here. Donal Ryan, because his words just sing off the page. He’s a master storyteller, slow and clever, with a knack for capturing the vernacular, and writing it in the most beautiful and poetic prose. And Maggie O’Farrell, whose historical fiction is immaculate and immersive. But I also particularly love the character-driven understated tensions This Must Be The Place and Instructions for a Heatwave.
What’s your favourite film adaptation of a book?
Hamnet seems a bit obvious, but it’s the first to mind, because I’ve seen it most recently, and it looked exactly as I pictured it in my head. It’s not a film, but HBO did an incredible mini-series adaptation of the aforementioned I Know This Much Is True, with Mark Ruffalo playing both twin brothers.
For some reason, it’s far easier for me to name those I’ve abhorred – The Beach (Alex Garland) and Possession (A.S. Byatt).
What’s the best non-fiction book you’ve ever read?
It’s been a long time, but it’s stayed with me, so I’ll say Tony Hawks’ Round Ireland With A Fridge, in which the author hikes around Ireland with a fridge to win a bet. I still quote passages and lines from it, when the opportunity arises.
Tell us about a book that didn’t live up to the hype.
For me, this is Ian McEwan’s Atonement. That ending. I felt it was the greatest cop out. I felt cheated and abandoned. The earlier part of the story was excellent, I was intrigued. And then… nothing! No pay-off. I’m still upset.
Do you have a favourite poem?
It’s probably Proof, by Brendan Kennelly. A poem about being in the moment, because I used to need reminding. I have the last line tattooed on my right arm, ‘Proof is what I do not need.’
What are you reading right now?
I’ve just finished (two hours ago) Elaine Feeney’s How to Build a Boat, and I’m looking at the TBR pile, wondering will it be Pixie, by Jill Dawson, or Elif Shafak’s There Are Rivers In The Sky.
