The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Barrett, Colin. Young Skins. New York: Black Cat, 2014.

Young Skins is a collection of seven short stories by Colin Barrett. The stories are all set in small towns in Ireland.

“The Clancy Kid” follows a young man named Jimmy Devereux and his friend Brendan “Tug” Cuniffe. Jimmy has had a sporadic long-term relationship with a local woman named Marlene. Marlene has recently become pregnant by another man—named Mark—and is now engaged to marry Mark. At Jimmy’s direction, Tug tips over Mark’s car. Jimmy and Tug then encounter a group of children playing make-believe. Jimmy and Tug ponder a local news headline about a missing child.

“Bait” is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator. The narrator is a young man, and he is friends with a young man called Matteen Judge. Matteen is infatuated with a young local woman named Sarah. Matteen and the narrator coerce Sarah to come to a bar with them. At the bar, an aggressive young man called Nubbin Tansey makes sexual advances towards Sarah. Sarah leaves, and Matteen tells the narrator to find her and try to persuade her to return. As the narrator does so, he wonders why he (the narrator) is so subservient to other people.

“The Moon” follows Valentine “Val” Leary. He works as a bouncer at a nightclub and is slightly younger than 30 years old. He develops a sexual relationship with 19-year-old Martina Boran. At the end of the summer, Martina leaves town to attend her second year of college. Val feels lonely after her departure, and he potentially feels insecure about never having left his hometown.

“Stand Your Skin” follows a young man named Eamonn “Bat” Battinger. He lives with his mother and works at a convenience store. He is self-conscious about his face, which was disfigured when an aggressive local man called Nubbin Tansey randomly attacked him. Bat does not often socialize, but when one of his coworkers invites him to a party at a pub, Bat hesitantly decides to attend. Bat feels out of place, as nearly everyone there is a college student. One of the attendees decides to recount the story of Bat’s disfigurement. Disappointed and uncomfortable, Bat leaves the party.

“Calm with Horses” follows Douglas “Arm” Armstrong, a man in his mid-twenties. He is unmarried, but he has a five-year-old son named Jack. Arm is on good terms with the mother, Ursula, but Arm is only occasionally involved in helping to raise Jack. Arm works as an ‘enforcer’ for the small, illegal cannabis business that operates in town. The operation is organized by Arm’s friend Dympna. Dympna’s uncles, Paudi and Hector, grow and supply the cannabis. One night, one of the dealers who works for Dympna attempts to sexually assault one of Dympna’s sisters. Dympna’s uncle Hector says that they should kill the dealer. Arm, fearing the uncles will halt the business if he does not comply, kills the dealer. When Arm and Dympna go to talk to Paudi, Paudi mistakenly thinks they are threatening him. Paudi attacks them with a gun. Dympna appears to die, and Arm eventually escapes. He sustains an injury but does not go to a hospital. He dies of blood loss a few hours later.

“Diamonds” follows an unnamed narrator. He appears to be about 40 years old. He is an alcoholic, and his alcoholism leads him to lose his job and friendships. He moves back to his hometown, where he acquires a job as a groundskeeper and gym teacher at the high school he sued to attend. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous. At one meeting, he meets a woman named Siobhán, who is about the same age as him. She is the mother of one of the students at the school where the narrator teaches. She worries that her son will grow up to be an alcoholic. The narrator and Siobhán drink together, causing the narrator to relapse into alcoholism. He goes to a nearby city and begins a multiple-day stretch of binge drinking.

“Kindly Forget My Existence” follows Owen Doran and Eli Cassidy, who are in their forties. Years ago, they were in a band together. They both had sexual relationships with Maryanne, another band mate. The band eventually dissolved. Eli and Maryanne married, but they divorced after about a year. Maryanne died of suicide, and Owen and Eli have come to town for her funeral. They stop in a bar and speak to the bartender, Dukic. Dukic speaks briefly of his time in the Bosnian War. Owen and Eli then leave the bar to attend the funeral.