Flavorwire

There are many ways we can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day: go on a bender, kiss everyone in sight, projectile vomit into some shrubbery, be the bastard who pinches someone for not wearing an appropriate amount of green, or all of the above. In addition to the general acts of vandalism and stupidity that will take place in a matter of hours, we suggest you pick up a copy of  The Granta Book of the Irish Short Story, edited by Anne Enright. We’ve come up with a list of ten contemporary Irish authors you need to know, because they’re masters of their craft, and because you’re going to need a big book to hide under when you commute to work tomorrow.

As Enright writes in the introduction: “If Ireland loves you, then you must be doing something wrong.” Here’s to the dreamers, the misanthropes, and the lonely souls contained in this collection, and long live the short story.

1. Colum McCann – “Everything in this Country Must”

A girl and her father attempt to save a horse caught in a deluge. Katie says, “He gave me the length of rope with the harness clip and I knew what to do.” McCann won the National Book Award for his last novel, Let the Great World Spin, about the death-defying feats of funambulist Philippe Petit.