Scheduled to be released in the UK by Picador on September 30, the paperback of Gabriel Byrne’s hugely successful memoir, Walking With Ghosts, has a new cover and a new synopsis, too!
Here is the synopsis from the official Picador page for the book:
Born to working-class parents and the eldest of six children, Gabriel Byrne harboured a childhood desire to become a priest. Four years later, Byrne had been expelled from an English seminary and he quickly returned to his native city. There he took odd jobs as a messenger boy and a factory labourer to get by. In his spare time he visited the cinema, where he could be alone and yet part of a crowd. It was here that he could begin to imagine a life beyond the grey world of ’60s Ireland.
It was a friend who suggested Byrne join an amateur drama group, a decision that would change his life forever and launch him on an extraordinary forty-year career in film and theatre. Moving between sensual recollection of childhood in a now almost vanished Ireland and reflections on stardom in Hollywood and on Broadway, often through the lens of addiction. Hilarious and heartbreaking Walking With Ghosts is a lyrical homage to the people and landscapes that ultimately shape our destinies.
And the new cover takes us back in time:
Glowing words of praise from colleagues round out this new offering, which arrives just 11 months after the publication, to wide acclaim, of the hardbound original:
So, what are you waiting for!? Pre-order this paperback now. It will be the PERFECT stocking-stuffer for the holidays, don’t you think?
You could also look for his other memoir. Remember? It may be a bit harder to find, though. heart
For US Readers
Walking With Ghosts, published by Grove Atlantic, will be available in paperback on November 23, 2021. You can pre-order it from several different outlets by visiting the Grove Atlantic page for the book.
And here’s the Amazon page for the book, with the Paperback information highlighted. I love that it is still, almost a year later, an Amazon Editors’ Pick!
Not sure if there will be a new cover, though. We shall see! heart
This one sounds like it has a more cohesive story than PimH, which was more like memories slapped on a page with photos on a tip-in. (Not that that’s such a bad thing!)
Pictures in My Head, Gabriel’s first memoir, was a collection of previously published stories together with new stories he wrote for the book. I found his first book charming, illuminating, and funny as hell.
His new memoir is a more mature work, of course, and is beautifully written, with a clear story line running through it. But it is also charming, illuminating, and in some places, funny as hell.
It also made me cry more than once, and that is very different.
Anyway, I’m glad we have both books because I think they reflect all of him over the years. And I love that he is such a brilliant writer. <3
Are we able to order the paperback in the U.S.?
Kim, I just checked and yes. The Grove Atlantic (USA) paperback edition will be available in November.
I’ll update the posting with this info. Thanks for asking!
Sometimes later because of my work but ever present in all these news. All of August and September were imperdibles (“unmissable”) and I am very happy because I have found one of the films that I wish to see: SMILLA! NOW I want to search for Defence of the Realm too. OUR dear GABRIEL always said the just words in all his interviews and all his feelings. My admiration grows day by day for this special man with his great personality and the veracity of his words. THANKS STELLA FOR THIS SPECIAL NEWS ALL MY FEELINGS.
Dora, I hope you can read his new book soon if you have not already. I don’t know if there will ever be a Spanish language translation, but I hope so. His book is a window into his life and his experience and I know you will appreciate it very much. Glad you found SMILLA! Just in time for your summer! All the best to you always.
Stella <3