Bullfighting

Bullfighting is Roddy Doyle's second collection of stories. The pieces take a bittersweet look at men and middle age, and together they draw a panorama of Ireland today. The settings move from classrooms and graveyards to local pubs and bullrings.

Many of the characters are concerned with loss: of their standing in the world, of their power, their virility and health, and their capacity to love. Yet the tales also look back at past glories and at the business of taking stock, so the mood shifts between wry and tender.

Doyle is known for his wit and his uncanny ear, and readers of Irish fiction will see his skill with characters on full display. Edition note: published by Jonathan Cape in 2011, 224 pages, ISBN-13: 9780224091435.