Ripeness by Sarah Moss: A captivating novel about the unwritten codes of Irish social interaction
Part of the attraction of this beguiling tale is the author’s curiosity about different ways of knowing
Sarah Moss
A collection of articles by Sarah Moss
Sarah Moss: ‘I’m a classic first child. A driven overachiever. Slightly neurotic’
The author and Irish Times columnist on her unusual introduction to the Burren, her contentment levels, and getting angry
I was put off organised sports for life by what we girls had to wear
It matters that women, and especially girls, have agency over what they wear
Is it okay to think about restaurants or art while children are bombed?
When I was younger my instincts about war and suffering were adolescent, which is not to say they were wrong
Don’t tell your child to be careful, or not to fall. Instead, stand ready to catch
I thought about all the lessons I learned in playgrounds. Wherever we went in the world, we ended up in the playground
I’m learning to wear my new glasses, not to be dismayed by what’s now clear
For a week, thrush nestlings, owls thrillingly close, frogs and an otter were all breaking news, urgent, fascinating. But this can’t be real life
Let’s put a real kitchen in every school. We could use some of the Apple taxes
Imagine cooking well from raw ingredients as part of the curriculum in those schools. We could have hens too
Give me wartime food advice over the maddening dietary diktats of today
I’m not advocating rationing, but I wish we could pay more attention to relationships between our bodies, our kitchens and our governments
I don’t need a smartwatch to tell me how rested I am when I wake up
On waking, maybe look at the sky, kiss your partner, say your prayers, think about what to wear or cook today
For seven years, I slept four or five hours a night, rarely for longer than an hour at a time
I’m okay on not much sleep but I was tired. I drove with the windows open and taught my classes standing up
Sarah Moss: A reader tried to needle me by scoffing at knitting - I was intrigued
Knitting and sewing are rarely done for profit, but that doesn’t make these arts and crafts trivial
Sarah Moss: I cycle to central Dublin several times a week. I’m a hypocrite not allowing my teenager to do the same
Now I can think about everything I enjoy about Dublin, almost all the way home, instead of worrying about getting home alive
I’d rather be in Connemara than anywhere tropical, wearing wellies and a woolly hat
A northern aesthetic feels like truth in a way that no more conventional paradise ever could, a fact encapsulated in pebbles
English was never pure or logical. Policing how other people speak is pointless and unattractive
If you resonate with these words, especially if you literally resonate with them, please don’t tell me
The prize for everyday sexism on the high street goes to hairdressing salons
Sarah Moss: The men I know have much more demanding haircuts than the one I want, so why am I being charged a fortune?
Every piece of clothing I buy is matched by a parting: one in, one out. It focuses the mind
Clothes well made by fairly paid people out of good quality fabric are not cheap, nor should they be
Jewellery might not always leave us with a clear conscience but it’s fun, and pleasure is not trivial
Sparkle is not a necessity for survival but aesthetic delight is part of what makes us human
People trying to sell diets enrage me on good days. On bad days I feel inadequate
We keep coming back for more, hoping for rules that will allow us to feel okay about inhabiting ordinary bodies in a culture committed to anxiety and hierarchy
Women are safer on the streets and men are safer at home, despite the stories we tell ourselves
Fear is determined by storytelling more than by data, and women have been taught to fear being outside for centuries
Here’s why you should never set ‘reading goals’ in an effort of grim self-improvement
The idea that reading is innately virtuous, other than religious material, is modern
I navigate new places without the internet because I believe in getting lost
I am convinced that way-finding without a phone schools us to pay attention in a way that we lose when we merge with a blue dot on a screen
There’s a clear difference between those who grew up taking photos of themselves and those of us who didn’t
Unlike the generation which has grown up with mobile phone cameras, when I am photographed I look awkward, wooden, smiling like someone who just wants this to stop now
If we really wanted to be good and healthy in 2025, we’d resolve to pester our politicians
Childhood rickets is back in Britain – and it’s not because ill-health is the logical outcome of poor choices
Fiction to look out for in 2025: From Eimear McBride to Ben Okri
Emma Donoghue, Joseph O’Connor and Colum McCann are just some of the big names with new books coming out in 2025. Here’s our pick of fiction for the year ahead
Christmas - and the perfect family life it represents - is an oppressive fantasy
Most families have someone missing even if the table is holly-decked and groaning
Assisted dying: Do we understand it properly?
I’ve seen the slow loss of dignity and the increase of pain that mark the last years of lives drawn out by healthcare in modern society
We should stop moving so fast. Resist where you can. Hold space to grow and digest
We should stop moving so fast. Resist where you can. Hold space to grow and digest
How did ‘granny’ become the byword for dimness? That’s so wrong
Some of the grandmothers I know are a surgeon, a judge and professors, while many others belong to the English literary canon
Eating disorders in later life: Some of my peers have had teenage weight levels for decades
In fact, a locally-made, organic doughnut might well be better than green beans grown with scarce water in Namibia and air-freighted in plastic wrap
I’m a Brexit-era ‘citizen of nowhere’, trying to settle in Ireland
If I have a family tradition, it’s moving, being an outsider, starting again
I was taught to avoid the ‘trap’ of cooking but I take pleasure in domestic life
I long for ways of thinking and writing and cooking that admit in the most serious and simple way, food is love
I had my kids in my mid-20s, which was unheard of among women of my class and generation
I’m making friends who are much younger and much older than me, because many women of my age are still ferociously juggling work and childcare and not free for coffee or a film
Men are deemed more masculine for taking up more space, women more feminine for taking up less
Binary categories hurt everyone, especially those whose natures or physiques are non-compliant
Only mothers who find recognition in professional life seem to be guilty of ‘having it all’
Society considers mums suspected of working by choice to be playing a zero-sum game where career ambition comes at the cost of motherly love
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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