Darker with the Lights on: Stories

'It s an open secret that David Hayden is one of the most interesting short story writers around. Why it s taken this long for his first collection to be published is beyond me but I, along with anyone with even the vaguest interest in looking at modernism anew, will be queuing up for a copy.' Eimear McBride Driven ceaselessly, hypnotically forward by a powerful yet seductive narrative force, the stories in this debut collection pull off that rare trick of captivating the reader, while twisting the form into truly new shapes.Like that other Irish master of the form, Joyce, Hayden takes solace from the momentary epiphany - 'There's no resurrection except for in small moments' - as compelling narrative is balanced by an imagist's flair for photographic observation. Darker With the Lights On introduces a mesmeric new literary talent with seismic potential.