2017 has already been an excellent year for one of Ireland’s most distinguished novelists and playwrights. His depiction of a gay relationship set against the wild and violent backdrop of the American West, Days Without End, earned Sebastian Barry his second Costa Book of the Year prize. His first came in 2008 for Secret Scripture, the screen adaptation of which – directed by Jim Sheridan – also made its appearance this year. Days Without End was described by the Guardian as: ‘a work of staggering openness…its narrative so propulsive that you must move on’. The Costa Prize judges observed of the book that ‘It is brutal, it is terrifying, it moves you to tears, it horrifies – and at the same time, it has these fantastic moments of light and beauty, and of friendship.’ Sebastian talks to Myles Dungan.
