"Across The Rooftops" by Kevin Barry (2012, from Dark Lies the Island)

I am very happy to have recently acquired a copy of Kevin Barry's latest collection of short stories, Dark Lies The Island.   In the 80 Q and A sessions I recently did with Irish writers I asked everyone who their favorite short story writers were and a lot of people mentioned Kevin Barry (1969, Limerick)  as among the most talented contemporary with authors.   There are 13 stories in the collection and I have already posted on two of them.  The collection is under 200 pages.  I will shortly read all of them and post on some, briefly.

"Across the Rooftops" centers in the thoughts of a young man who sometimes sits on a rooftop with a young woman he likes.  He has been mulling over for a long time how he should make his first move.  Barry does an excellent job with his mental vacillations. The last few lines of this story are masterful.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the collection.