What readers think of The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac, plus links to write your own review.

Wow. Just that…wow. This is an unflinching, emotionally complex, and brilliantly perceptive collection of 15 short stories by Irish writer Louise Kennedy.

All take place in small towns and villages in Ireland with beautiful, lyrical descriptions of the countryside and depictions of characters with ordinary lives—from hardscrabble to heartbreaking and rough to resilient.

A few of my favorites:
• "What the Birds Heard": Doireann has escaped to the sea in the far north of Ireland, fleeing her husband, Paul, and her tiresome marriage. They have been trying to have a baby. No luck. Now the love is lost. Living alone and painting, Doireann meets a local workman, the rough and stoic Tim Gallagher. What happens between them is a bit of a surprise.

• "Once a Upon a Pair of Wheels": Even if it was an accident, Aidan did something horrific years ago—so horrific, he was sentenced to prison for it. Now he is out and working as a landscaper. A new client is Niamh, his former girlfriend, who is married, has a child, and is a successful (and wealthy) attorney. Is he working for her or stalking her?

• "Brittle Things": Ciara and Dan have a four-year-old son Ferdia. He'll be five next week. Ferdia doesn't speak, and he gets angry easily. Only breadsticks will calm him down. Ciara knows something is greatly amiss, but Dan is in denial. How they come to realize their little boy needs more help than they can provide is the heart of this story.

• "Sparing the Heather": Mairead is unhappily married to Brendan and having an affair with Hugh, who was recently hired as the gun club's gamekeeper. He leads a big hunt with participants from all over. Nearby, the Garda is camped out in tents, searching for a body from a long-ago murder. For weeks, they have been combing the moor, crossing back and forth. Interestingly, Mairead knows something…something big.

Like many short stories, these start and stop suddenly, so it can take a few pages to "get into it," and many of the endings are abrupt, leaving the reader to figure out what happens. For me, this is part of the enchantment of the short story format because it makes me think and search for insight, but I know it can be frustrating for some readers.