The book deals movingly with the issues around historic child sex abuse in the Catholic church in Ireland. Barry said his period as Laureate for Irish Fiction (2019–2021) stopped him from “thinking about himself” as a writer and gave him a sense of “a public role,” which ultimately opened the door to him taking on this enormously challenging subject matter.
The novel tells the story of retired policeman Tom Kettle, who is grappling with the darkness of his past. It is a beautifully written novel that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Barry skillfully conceives ways of telling the story that ensure he only reveals what he wants you to know at that moment, leaving space for plenty of twists and shocks as the novel progresses.
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER TWICE WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR
'A masterpiece' Sunday Times 'Stunning' LIZ NUGENT 'Extraordinary' Irish Times
Tom Kettle, a retired policeman, and widower, is settling into the quiet of his new home in Dalkey, overlooking the sea.
His solitude is interrupted when two former colleagues turn up at his door to ask about a traumatic, decades-old case. A case that Tom never quite came to terms with. And his peace is further disturbed when his new neighbour, a mysterious young mother, asks for his help.
I’ve had a passion for de Bernieres’ writing style since being consumed by Captain Corelli’s Mandolin as a teenager. This book, though, is a very different kind of narrative–richly comic while dealing with an apocalyptic vision of the near future. It follows the adventures of Q, a quantum cryptographer who has bought a remote Cornish farmhouse where he intends to ride out a crisis for civilization.
Despite its grim premise, it is a heartwarming novel that paints a picture of Q's self-sufficient lifestyle while interacting with everything from a reintroduced lynx to the spirit of an Arthurian knight. The author’s real skill is distilling our generation’s fears and hopes within an entertaining tale while compelling readers to consider what we hold most dear in our lives.
Sometimes we must look to the past to survive the future.
Q wants a simpler and safer life. His work as a quantum cryptographer for the government has led him to believe a crisis is imminent for civilisation and he's looking for somewhere to ride out what's ahead.
He buys a ruined farmhouse in Cornwall and begins to build his own self-sufficient haven. Over the course of this quest he meets the eccentric characters who already live on the moors nearby - including the park ranger in charge of the reintroduced lynxes and aurochs that roam the area; a holy…
John Banville, who won the Booker Prize in 2005 for The Sea, may have retired from literary fiction in favour of more commercially-focused crime novels, but this book proved he has been able to take his extraordinary writing with him–elevating the crime novel to new heights, rather than dumbing-down his own output.
This is the third installment of the Strafford & Quirke mystery series under his own name–he had written others previously with the same characters under his pseudonym, Benjamin Black. Pathologist Dr. Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford make an unlikely partnership in tackling the darkest crimes of 1950s Dublin, but Banville’s lyrical prose draws you in so all-consumingly it’s easy to forget you exist in your own time period while you have your head in the novel.
'Crime writing of the highest quality.' DAILY MAIL
'Atmospheric and sinister with simmering tension . . . Once you start reading, it's impossible to stop.' DAILY EXPRESS
The Sunday Times bestselling author of Snow and April in Spain returns with Strafford and Quirke's most troubling case yet.
1950s Dublin. The body of a young woman is discovered in a lock-up garage, an apparent suicide. But pathologist Dr Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford soon suspect foul play.
The victim's sister returns from London to help the two men, but, with…
This book tells the story of veteran Ernie as he returns to Italy, transformed by his experiences during the Second World War, in search of the girl he left behind in the back streets of Naples half a century before.
The novel is a story of love in a world without room for romance. Both Ernie and Preghiera see in each other the hope of happiness. But they live in a world that seems set on keeping them apart. Just as love can last a lifetime, so too can heartache. For fifty years, Ernie dreams of returning and taking the hand of the true love of his life determined nothing will stop him from being with Preghiera in the end.
