**WINNER of the EU Prize for Literature**
'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation' SUNDAY TIMES
'Gripping, affecting, surprising. I inhaled it' LISA MCINERNEY
'Captivating, intelligent and courageous' IRISH TIMES
'Spectacular. At once grittily real, wildly magical and insanely alluring - a siren-song of a novel.' DONAL RYAN
'Jan Carson seems to have invented a new Belfast in this gripping, surprising, exhilarating novel.' RODDY DOYLE
'Blew me away with its power, anger and wit.' JOSEPH O'CONNOR
Dr Jonathan Murray fears his new-born daughter is not as harmless as she seems.
Sammy Agnew is wrestling with his dark past, and fears the violence in his blood lurks in his son, too.
The city is in flames and the authorities are losing control. As matters fall into frenzy, and as the lines between fantasy and truth, right and wrong, begin to blur, who will these two fathers choose to protect?
Dark, propulsive and thrillingly original, this tale of fierce familial love and sacrifice fizzes with magic and wonder.
About the Author :
Jan Carson is a writer and community arts facilitator based in Belfast. Her first novel, Malcolm Orange Disappears, was published in 2014 to critical acclaim, followed by a short story collection, Children’s Children (2016), and a flash fiction anthology, Postcard Stories (2017). Her work has appeared in numerous journals and on BBC Radio 3 and 4. In 2016 she won the Harper’s Bazaar short story competition and was shortlisted for the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize. She specializes in running arts projects and events with older people, especially those living with dementia. The Fire Starters is her second novel.
Review :
Gripping, affecting, surprising. I inhaled it.
Spectacular . . . Dark, beautiful, at once grittily real and wildly magical. Insanely alluring.
Blew me away with its power, anger and wit.
A big and rambunctious novel that casts a cold satirical eye on themes such as language, culture, identity, sectarianism, and the terrifying proximity of the past
Shimmering with wit, simmering with an incandescent rage, shot through with a seam of wild magic, The Fire Starters is a powerful, disturbing portrait of East Belfast and its people and its hope for the future. I won’t be the only reader to proclaim that, in the best way possible, Jan Carson is on fire.
Captivating, intelligent and courageous
Carson's playfulness delights again and again, even as she explores her city's darkest corners. Sound the siren: this novel truly burns bright
Jan Carson seems to have invented a new Belfast in this gripping, surprising, exhilarating novel.
With her idiosyncratic blend of warm intelligence, dark humour, and magic realism, Jan Carson brings us a singular portrait of a city and its people struggling with questions of guilt, responsibility, and the limits of love.
A perfect mix of dark humour, magic and social commentary.
