The Love Object

'O'Brien writes the most beautiful, aching stories of any writer, anywhere.'

Alice Munro

'The taboo-breaking, the fabulous prose – there's no one like O'Brien.'

Anne Enright

'Heart-breaking empathy, rigorous honesty and peerless beauty.'

Eimear McBride

'A profound intelligence spurred on by a tangible, fizzing joy.'

Megan Nolan

'Brilliant and brave.'

Ann Patchett

'A revolution.'

John Banville

'Glittering energy.'

Colm Tóibín

Spanning five decades of writing, and winning the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award,

The Love Object collects the most luminous stories by Edna O'Brien that have bewitched generation after generation. Here you will find tales of families, feuds, enchantment, despair, and the manifold bonds of love. There are stories about the tension between country and city life, the instinct towards escape and nostalgia for home; always crafted in shimmering prose.