Fishing the Sloe-Black River

Osobe is just one of the memorable characters in Fishing the Sloe-Black River, and one of many reasons why I think I’ll find myself dipping back into McCann’s River whenever I feel the need to connect with a story. McCann’s taut prose, imaginative descriptions, and characters that seem too deep to have been created in so few words, are part of a masterful collection of short fiction that places him solidly in the lineage of great Irish short story writers. To borrow one of McCann’s own descriptions, his writing is “as sharp as a new blade of grass,” and Fishing the Sloe-Black River is an impressive collection from a remarkable voice.