The author then entertainingly lead us through the list with plenty of lively sidetracking along the way. Doyle is an articulate and likeable fellow and takes sessions like this in his stride having done hundreds of them before one imagines.
His latest work, Bullfighting, is a collection of short stories and it was interesting to hear him say that he came to the short story after seven novels whereas most authors tend to start with short stories and move to novels.
He then read to us an incredibly funny story, Animals, from the collection which had the large audience in stitches.
He went on to talk about book reviews, good and bad, the enjoyment he gets from writing which he does "because I can" and because "I love it", the pride in being the first Irish writer to win the Man Booker Prize, writing for The New Yorker and their strong editorial processes, he suggested that tragedy and comedy go hand in hand and talked of the importance of domestic trivia in fiction. He gave thoughtful and gracious answers to questions from the chair and the audience.
We went home smiling.
Footnote:
Reviews of Bullfighting - The Independent, The Guardian ,
The New York Times
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