The Burning Ground

A masterful debut short story collection from the award-winning, critically-acclaimed poet Adam O'Riordan



'Wonderfully lyrical and bittersweet' OBSERVER

'This is a wonderful, beguiling collection of short stories. Written with a cool, knowing lyricism, they haunt and enthral' WILLIAM BOYD

'An auspicious debut, full of unforgettable lines and hard-won insights. Adam O'Riordan is the real thing' HUGO WILLIAMS

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In these eight stories, an English writer focuses his gaze on America's West Coast, moving from fractured lives in remote, sun-scorched towns to the charged hum of Venice Beach.



A man visits his long-distance lover in Los Angeles and forges an unexpected bond with a fellow traveller on the way;

a teenager interviews a businessman for his school newspaper and their paths continue to cross, throughout life;

the foreman of a desert building project embarks on a journey down the Pacific Coast Highway and into California's underworld when his employer's daughter goes missing;

a lonely widower reflects on the past and confronts a disturbing and long suppressed memory;

a divorced father tries to reconnect with his son on a hunting trip;

an artist finds peace in exile after the disintegration of an affair;

and itinerant Brits discuss love and acting in downtown LA.



Written with an outsider's keen eye, this collection of stories paints an intimate portrait of diverse lives, in a work of remarkable beauty and poignancy.