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Show Them a Good Time is the debut from Irish writer, Nicole Flattery. The book of eight short stories was released in January 2019 following high anticipation. Since publication, it has garnered impressive acclaim, including the Irish Times recognising it as another astonishing debut from the current “golden age” of female Irish writing.

 

Although there is no narrative connection between each of the stories, Flattery presents a cohesive collection. Her voice is grounded and consistent throughout; she writes fiction seen with an observant eye that refuses to blink at violence.

 

While characters, dialogue and descriptions are all skilfully written, Flattery shows herself to be a master of setting. She depicts the Ireland that remains after the economic disaster of the 90’s, with economic, personal and sexual cachet theatrically and intentionally engorged. Throughout, characters become qualified as people by their wealth, position and social standing rather than the unquestionable, inherent value of a person, regardless of their economic value. This fragility of human value imbues the readings and unsettles the reader, at times making the environment within the story cruel and dangerous. The collection of stories have been called daring, brave and dark. This is due to the complete absence of satisfying justice or fairness in the work. Writing in post-crash Ireland, the land and the individual’s grip on reality and reason is pulled into question.

 

The stories in Show Them a Good Time are a study of social climate and the participation it has in our interactions with others and our self-understanding. At times, Flattery appears to be interested more in the setting in which she places her characters than the characters themselves. This aids the development of the characters she is writing about, who cannot exist without their environment, although they make desperate attempts to escape it. Flattery engages with themes of identity, showing an individual set against the backdrop of a social life torn down the middle. In a daring and uncomfortable way, Flattery asks and reveals in her work what the life of a human becomes when the expectations they had, and the promises of life they had been given, are brutally stripped away, leaving them cold, defensive and often harried.

 

Show Them A Good Time is published by The Stinging Fly Press. Her next release, a novel, is expected to be published in 2021 by Bloomsbury.