Fishing in Beirut

Fishing in Beirut is a contemporary novel in eight parts, set mainly in Paris. It was written between 2002 and 2006. It follows the lives of five characters in the city over a 3 year period, with some parts also taking place in Berlin, Chicago, and Sevilla. It is written in a series of short scenes, with each character getting one scene before we move on to another.

I wanted to describe things, to really render scenes of Paris on the page. I was obsessed with sensation, and the writing returns again and again to how the characters are physically feeling. I wanted to tell how they were feeling and show what they were doing at a particular moment and leave all judgement up to the reader. I don’t know if I achieved that or not but that was the aim.

The book works best if you read it in sequence, but feel free to pick and choose extracts as you go, or even just to follow the story of the character(s) you like.

You can see each part individually by clicking the relevant part name on the right side of the page. If you would like to see all the scenes of a particular character, just click on the character name on the right. The story begins with a poem by Federico Garcia Lorca.

Sept 2010: Fishing in Beirut is out now in paperback, published by Blue Press. Copies can be ordered directly from the publisher by emailing info@bluepresspublishing.com. Price is €10.00. It is available on all online retailers, including Amazon international, The Book Depository, Waterstones, Play.com, Barnes & Noble, Bertrams etc. You can also order it in any bookshop anywhere in the world. The ISBN number is 978-0-9565960-0-0.

Oct 2010: Fishing in Beirut is available in store in Hughes & Hughes Dundrum. To know when it becomes available in a shop near you, check here regularly and follow me on twitter.

Dec 2010: The official launch took place in Deansgrange Library in South County Dublin on Tuesday 14th of December. The book was introduced by Bert Wright, curator of DLR Library Voices & DLR Mountains to the Sea Book Festival. More details and photos on the event’s Facebook page. A great night was had by all.

Jan 2010: According to Bert Wright, “It’s rare to find a contemporary novel which satisfies on so many levels but Fishing in Beirut is one such. Not alone is the prose rich and lyrical, but the multiple point-of-view narrative is at once bold and deftly constructed. The sounds, smells, and tastes of great European cities are brilliantly evoked and there are several intriguing plot twists to keep the reader engaged throughout. On this performance, Steven Callaghan is an Irish writer to watch.”

Fishing in Beirut has been covered in the local press, and read by several bookclubs. I am always happy to speak at literary events, so don’t hesitate to contact me. Here’s a brief interview, courtesy of the wonderful Sarah’s Books.

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter for updates. New novel The Book of Chivalry coming soon. Thank you all for your kind comments.

Steven Callaghan

Contact: fishinginbeirut@gmail.com