Louise O'Neill: For the whole first year of college, I felt as if I was an alien
Louise O'Neill. Photo: Cathal Noonan
When I read the latest installment in the wonderful series (out October 8), I was struck by co-authors Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen’s uncanny ability to tap into the Irish 'everywoman' with such humour and incisiveness. I frequently have a similar reaction when reading McLysaght’s weekly newspaper column. From the dangers of quicksand (kids movies in the 90s really did lead me to believe this would be a greater threat in my daily life than it has been so far) to desperate hopes to win a home in a raffle, (seems a better bet than the current housing market) I feel very seen.
Never was this more apparent than a piece McLysaght wrote a few months ago about her time as a culchie at Trinity College, which closely mirrored my own. Given the success of Sally Rooney’s , and subsequent novels such as Louise Nealon’s and Eimear Ryan’s — all coming-of-age novels set in TCD’s Arts Block, I have been asked if I will also contribute something to the ‘Trin-Lit’ genre. It seems unlikely, I say, given that most of the experiences I thought were so unique to me have been told and re-told in other people’s novels.
