Some Sort of Beauty

Jamie O'Connell's debut collection of short stories, Some Sort of Beauty, distils the experiences, memories, regrets and hopes of a miscellany of 21st-century private worlds. The collection explores issues of faith, sexuality, travel and modern urban culture, through voices as diverse as that of a Jehovah’s Witness father coping with the death of his rebel daughter, the monologue of a woman who abandoned her young family, drug-fuelled reminiscences and stark reflections on love and the quiet tragedy of everyday moments. Underlining these narratives is a powerful humanity guided by hope, forgiveness and the redemptive power of art.