A City Burning — Angela Graham

Set in Ulster, south Wales, and Italy, many of the stories in A City Burning concern a point of choice and decision. Characters reach a turning point at which their lives can become fuller and more meaningful, but at a cost to themselves. In others they bear witness to an event and must decide whether to become involved or pass by. They could be ordinary people in Belfast during the Troubles or their aftermath, or during the Covid-19 pandemic, or priests facing a new religious reality in their ministries, or family members in a domestic situation in south Wales. Characters are forced to look into themselves; each must make a choice of how to live their future lives. These stories are vividly written and authentically realised, with Graham's eye for a telling detail and instinct for a loaded silence drawing in the reader. She has created memorable characters and situations which linger in the mind long after the story has ended.

"A City Burning is an impressive kaleidoscope of landscape and language" - Angeline King

"Angela Graham is a brilliant new voice. This is literature that deserves to last." – Kate Hamer

“A debut collection of tales remarkable for its verve, depth and range" - John Gower