Departures

Cornell writes with a burnished melancholy and a soft wit, rolling out an undulating series of elegant images. . . . She writes model short stories: lucid, inventive and teeming with overlapped memories, like creamier versions of William Trevor's wry fables of unfulfillment.-- "New York Times Book Review"
Cornell's vignettes are strong, impassioned portraits of very different people and how they cope with their Irish heritage of violence: literary yet accessible pieces which go beyond the usual cliches.-- "Midwest Book Review"
This beautifully written collection of stories tells how the beleaguered, ordinary folks living in Belfast manage to keep their faith alive and their souls together. . . A book full of tenderness and compassion.-- "Library Journal"
Cornell's stories . . . are reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor's plots, but with a crucial difference. Cornell's stories end with a redemption of love, whether it be familial, religious, or marital. Cornell's characters are swept up in the tide of love, or at the very least, they experience a recognition of love as the grace which gives life its value.-- "Colorado Review"
The stories offer naturally maturing plots and characters as well as emotional and psychological responses to a life laden with war-zone ethics, unemployment, poverty, and the challenge of daily survival. . . . Cornell's narrators, usually daughters, speak as awakened children, realistic and without romantic ideals. They seem lost innocents, confused and frustrated by the future they will inherit: alcoholism, unemployment, depression, grief. Yet beneath the disparity, they desperately hope to discover some truth, some strength that may save them.-- "Booklist"