I got to sit with one of the most interesting and inventive writers working today: Keith Ridgway, the Goldsmith’s Prize shortlisted writers! So, today, we really are having a coffee with one of the world’s most interesting writers as I speak to Keith about his latest novel, Dooneen.  On late night walk through London, a man suddenly finds himself in an uncanny version of Dublin and at a distance from his lover. How does he reconcile this place that once appears to be like home then isn’t?  These are the questions at the heart of Keith Ridgway’s novel, Dooneen. Keith has been described by The Times as one of Ireland’s best writers, in a country that isn’t short of them.’ His previous novels include, A Shock, which won the 2021 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and Hawthorn and Child. His first novel The Long Falling was filmed by Martin Provost as Ou Va La Nuit. He’s won several French literary prizes too.  If you fancy getting more from the Rippling Pages, including an exclusive Patreon only podcast on what makes the openings of books so good, why not consider suscribing here! https://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi   And buy all the books mentioned on the show. Buying from this link supports indie bookshops and the Rippling Pages as I get a very small commission from every book sold through this link. https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Chapters 3.45 – is this a love story  6.10 -Mootie and Mew’s relationship 09.00 – What is this version of Dublin.  11.15 – Keith’s personal relationship with Dublin 15.20 – Terror  19.20 – Mootie the silent but important character 26.00 – pathos and trust 28.15 – rippling pages bookshop 29.20 – is Mew dead 36.10 – other writers of influence 41.00 – Liam O’Flaherty 46.30 – Why end Dooneen in tunnels Books Samuel Beckett Anna Burns – Milkman (Faber and Faber) Charles Dalton – With the Dublin Brigade (2014, Mercier Press) Kazuo Ishiguro – The Unconsoled (1995, Faber and Faber) James Joyce  Ferenc Karinthy – Metropole (1970) Anna Kavan – Ice (1967) Liam O’Flaherty – The Informer James Plunkett – Strumpet City Keith Ridgway – A Shock (2021, Pan MacMillan) George Saunders – Lincoln in the Bardo (2017, Bloomsbury) Kurt Vonnegut