Paul Murray’s Donuts

“When I was a teenager the American chain Dunkin’ Donuts opened a branch in Dublin. For me and my friends, this was like a spaceship landing, because at that time Ireland was quite similar to Eastern Europe — poor, cut off from the rest of the world, culturally quite repressed and static. So Dunkin’ Donuts was the coolest place in Dublin. As a teenager though I spent all my money on cigarettes and I never had enough left for doughnuts, so I used to just sit there drinking their horrible coffee. Since I quit smoking I’ve developed a real sweet tooth, but Dunkin’ Donuts is gone, which is probably a good thing.”

The Skippy Dies writer talks to Bookslut.