Mary Costello is a new author to me. Per Wikipedia, she is an Irish author of short stories and novels; she was born in Galway and now lives in Dublin. Her two novels are Academy Street (2014) and The River Capture (2019). Her first short story collection was The China Factory (2012).
Her next collection, Barcelona, will be out in March 2024; this story will be in that collection.
"The Choc-Ice Woman"
The setting is in Ireland. Frances, the narrator, is accompanying the remains of her brother Denis in a hearse, as a passenger. It is a longish drive, from Dublin, where her brother was in the hospital, to Kerry, where they live. Her husband Frank is following them to the funeral home in their car. Along the way, on this trip, we learn about her background and her family, and about her marriage. Frances and her husband are in their early sixties. They have been married about 30 years. The story is surprising and sad.
This story was a very good read, even though it was somewhat unsettling; I will be on the lookout for other stories by this author.
"The Choc-Ice Woman" was published in the print edition of the October 16, 2023, issue of the New Yorker. It is available online here; I don't know if you have to have a subscription to access it.
