Jan Carson is an Irish writer and Quickly, While They Still Have Horses (2024) is her first book published in North America. After reading these 16 short stories, my opinion of Carson’s work is “unsettling.” Take the first story in the book, “A Certain Degree of Ownership,” for example. A distracted couple on a deserted beach don’t notice their baby is crawling towards the ocean.

In “Grand So,” a car is haunted by the ghost of its previous owner who lurks in the backseat. A confused father loses his two sons in an adventure park in “Fair Play.”

I was most affected by the title story, “Quickly, While They Still Have Horses.” A man deals with a difficult woman who only seems to like horses. Also troubling is “Victor Soda” where residents of a small village send their virgin daughters to an older man for sex education before they are to be married.

If you’re in the mood for some dark stories set in Ireland, give Quickly, While They Still Have Horses a try. GRADE: B-

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. A Certain Degree of Ownership — 1
2. Grand So — 7
3. Fair Play — 21
4. 4. Tinged — 41
5. 5. Quickly, While They Still Have Horses — 53
6. 6. Victor Soda — 67
7. 7. Pillars — 91
8. 8. Jellyfish — 103
9. 9. Mostly People Just Throw Bricks — 119
10. 10. Bat McElhatton Learns to Drive — 141
11. 11. Caravan — 159
12. 12. Troubling the Water — 175
13. 13. In the Car with the Rain Coming Down — 187
14. 14. One-Hander — 211
15. 15. Coasters — 231
16. 16. Family Circle — 253
17. A Note on Previously Published Stories — 265
18. Acknowledgments — 267
19. About the Author — 271