Books by Edward J. Delaney
2019
The Big Impossible:
Novellas+Stories
"In two novellas and five piercing stories, men face the last 50 years of upheaval in the United States and their own failures to connect." ―Shelf Awareness
"Easily ranks among the best fiction I've read this year.” ―David Abrams, author of Brave Deeds and Fobbit
“The Big Impossible sets high standards for itself, not only in attempting to narrow down identity and Americana, but also the role of shorter fiction at large; and it exceeds even that." ―Chicago Review of Books
"Engrossing and emotionally nuanced; a sturdy and careful set of portraits of men struggling not to be swallowed up by their failures or upbringings.” ―Kirkus Reviews
2018
Follow The Sun
"Outstanding. . . . Written in an artfully terse style that not only carries the story but conveys a sense of the working-class world it's set in. The dialogue is especially sharp, delivered in quick, polished punches. Characters can be sarcastic, even harsh in their dealings with each other, but their humanity and underlying sorrows come through in every exchange." ―Foreword Reviews
"Follow the Sun is just plain fantastic. Edward J. Delaney lands the reader in perfectly rendered portside bars, small-time newspaper offices, lobster boats, prison. Their lives are done full justice because they are depicted with astonishing precision and artfulness. What a knockout read." ―Paul Harding, author of Tinkers, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
[His] portrayal of his characters' struggles to survive their troubled pasts is heartbreakingly realistic and honest, making the suspense and its eventual resolution all the more meaningful." ―Booklist
2011
Broken Irish
"A masterpiece... highly recommended" - Library Journal (starred review
"A nuanced and elegant novel" - SFGate.com
"The novel has a complex plot and a driving, fast-paced narrative. [Delaney] eventually reveals unexpected connections among the troubled souls in this highly recommended book." - The Star-Tribune, Minneapolis
Editor's Choice, ALA Booklist, as one of the "best books of 2011"
“Truly indelible. . . . [Delaney] cares about details and understands their importance to the larger themes of loss, desperation, and betrayed loyalties. His characters are not merely vehicles for ideas, but rather fully realized, familiar people, whose failures are heartbreakingly authentic.” —Boston Globe
2004
Warp & Weft
"Three men slog through days in a New England textile mill and while away the nights in a working-class town in Delaney's quietly lyrical first novel. Delaney portrays the landscape and the milieu with impressionistic grace."
- Publisher's Weekly
"Delaney writes in an understated, almost neutral tone that evokes the time and place without begging the reader's sympathy or indulgence. A modest and quiet work that draws the outlines of a vanished world with exceptional ease and grace."- Kirkus Reviews
Winner, 2005 PEN New England-L.L. Winship Award
1999
The Drowning and Other Stories
"Delaney's measured pace imparts a grace to his tales, which at their best are reminiscent of Cheever or Updike's grittiest efforts. Few words are wasted in this quietly triumphant collection."
- Publisher's Weekly
"Fine and real: Delaney's field of vision is very narrow but very rich, and his sensitivity to the power of unspoken emotions animates his work in a refreshingly old-fashioned way."
- Kirkus Reviews