Four Mothers

'Aeons' is about...

..first love.

But it's also a meditation on...

..queer culture, it's about Ireland,

it's about our past and our present. It's about...

Fuck off, that's fucking shit.

I wanted to write about first love.

I wanted to... write about something that young readers

could connect with in a way that was familiar

and raw and heartfelt that would...

..validate their feel-ings.

That's awful. Don't do that. Um...

It's about-- The book is about...

I think the book is about...

We hope you're keeping well, Alma.

We're gettin' all these sausage rolls ready for this lot.

It takes us a bit longer without you here crackin' the whip.

The lads are always askin' after you,

"And where is Alma's bolognese?" That's all we hear every day.

Murders there has been here some of the days.

I lit a candle for you last week up in St. Anthony's.

...power and...

..social structure and...

I'm coming!

..social structure, and within the subtext of the story

we're also exploring issues of post-colonial conflict in Ireland...

..the legacy of the Catholic Church

and the growth of a queer culture within a regressive society.

Okay, okay!

Alright, alright!

Oh Jesus Christ, I'm gonna throw that bell away!

I heard you the first time.

Good morning. What?

Oh my God, the face.

Okay.

I dunno, we got a lovely lilac number,

some peachy peach or the most gorgeous hue of aquamarine you ever have seen.

If this is not to your satisfaction

we could, I dunno, go Miss Scarlet and take a sewing machine to this curtain?

The blue. Of course, it's the blue. Yeah. Boring.

Alright, here we go. Ready? One, two, three.

Just give it a minute. Patience, patience. Okay.

That's much better.

- Good morning Edward. - Oh my God. She speaks.

Finally!

Welcome to the Land of the living.

Thirty seconds Edward.

Be confident.

Mam.

Mam, stop looking at me.

Our next guest is the Irish novelist, Edward Brady,

-whose debut novel 'Aeons'... -What?

-..explores a complex friendship... -Toilet.

..and gay relationship between two young men.

Sorry.

Edward, thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me.

Great. So, your novel was first published in 2018 in Ireland and the UK, I believe,

but it's only now being picked up internationally.

And all because of a sudden surge

in young readers who discovered the novel through TikTok.

Yeah, I know it's crazy, but that's how it happened.

It's a beautiful read, Edward, I have to say.

Now, tell us about Cian

and where we find him at the start of the story.

Um, he's sort of an awkward

unformed teenager when we meet him.

He's trapped in a small Irish town struggling with his identity.

And then he meets a sorta mercurial English boy

and we follow the relationship over the next 10 years.

So it's a love story about these two young gay men.

But it's also an out-of-love story. Then there's things thematically, uh...

Slow down, Edward.

Hello?

They will not be able to understand. You talk fast.

Please try and be slower.

They are American and your accent will confuse them.

Edward, are you still with us?

Edward, if you were going any slower, we would go back in time.

Please don't start.

Mam! Why do you keep pointing at every turn?

I know where we're going, okay? I've been driving you there for a year.

What? We're not going to be late.

The physio says if she doesn't start gettin' some exercise,

she'll be in a chair in six months.

She won't fuckin' listen. Talkin' to the wall you do be.

All she wants to do is smoke fags and watch telly.

She has me flat destroyed.

I had the guards over with me on Tuesday.

Why?

'Cause my mum keeps turning up at wakes for people she doesn't even know.

One of the families reported her to the guards.

They thought she was in robbing the dead man's watch.

What was she doing?

Trying to put fuckin' rosary beads into the casket.

- Why? - I dunno!

She thinks she's doin' the Lord's work, I suppose.

Ohmygod, there's Simon.

I thought his Ma passed.

She did. I think it got rough at the end.

Jesus Christ, he looks wrecked.

Hi!

I can't end up looking like tha'.

Certainly not with all that's been spent on Botox.

Don't be tellin' people me business.

Uh, chicken, he's not blind.

-Gorge. -Is it?

Years younger.

-Thanks, Edward. -I still think you're a lip filler away

from ending up like Mickey Rourke in 'The Wrestler'.

Will you stop being such a cunty fuck, please?

-I'm not! -You are! What's wrong with ya?

Uh, this?!

I can't take it anymore.

It's the guys in Maspalomas.

Hola, chicas!

Just sending you a message to say, "Hi" to you and les madres.

Say hi to the boys!

Hi! We miss you!

We wish you were here

and we'll see you all really, really soon. Sláinte!

That used to be us.

You ready, two wheels?

That okay?

The publishers are talking about doing this...

..big release for the book in America.

I know, they think the reviews are gonna be good

and that it has a shot.

They've asked me to go over there for a book tour.

Are you going to do it?

-What?! How can I? -Okay...

What-- Who am I supposed to leave Mam with for two weeks?

I mean, I can think of a number of people. And two weeks is nothing!

It's not nothing for an 81-year-old woman recovering from a stroke.

-I can't just dump her with anyone-- -Well, you could--

And don't say residential care!

Fine. I'm not going to argue with you about that again.

-Good. -Look Edward, I know how difficult it is

to be in a co-dependent relationship with a demanding woman.

When I think about my situation with Audrey and--

Oh my God. Oh my God. Are you actually going to try and segueway into that again?

It's not the same thing. I came out when I was 17.

I am simply trying to draw a parallel between you,

avoiding your destiny as an artist, and me,

avoiding my destiny as an out gay man.

Oh, God.

Alright! No need to be so dramatic.

Can we just focus on me today?

-Of course. -Thank you.

It's unprofessional.

Even though you haven't paid me in five years.

I'm also interested at the moment in writing about, um,

Ireland's Generation X and the Generation X Imaginary.

And also, this around the time, I suppose,

of Bad Day at Blackrock being written...

I don't know. Like a ringin' in me ears.

It's probably stress headaches. Edward gets them, don't ya?

- Hello? - He's not listening to you.

Too busy staring at Raf for the last 20 minutes.

Here, I need Netflix recommendations for Jean.

Um, has she seen 'Unorthodox'?

She only likes stuff with LOADS of killin' in it.

-Uh, 'Dexter'? -She's seen it.

-'Love/Hate'? -Seen it.

-Has she seen 'Kin'? -Yeah.

- 'Gangs of London'? - Jesus! Sorry I asked.

-What the fuck's wrong with you? -I'm just overwhelmed like... sorry.

You need to start standing up for yourself. Doesn't he?

It gets easier.

When?

Okay. I'm ending this conversation now.

See ya.

Wait, I didn't get to tell yous about me Grindr chat--

Wake up.

She's ready for bed.

Thanks.

When are the reviews coming?

Dunno. Dunno, tomorrow maybe.

Exciting.

You'll be grand.

-So, how's things with you? -Good.

We found an apartment in Oberkampf, that we can afford.

-Wow. That's great. -I know.

How's Richard, is he excited?

Ridiculously excited.

Sometimes he's so exhausting, you know.

Always wants to be doing things.

Hiking, walking...

Oh, I hate that.

I'm like, chicken, I just got in from work.

All I want to do is go to bed and watch Netflix.

Oh my God, was I always like this?

Like what?

Quiet. Dull.

Well, you certainly weren't quiet when I first met you.

You were pretty insufferable, if memory serves.

-Was I? -Edward!

You fucking loved the sound of your own voice.

Hmm...

See you later.