From the twice Man Booker longlisted author of From a Low and Quiet Sea

'Poetic, powerful and heart-rending' THE TIMES

'An exquisite account of womanhood, friendship, prejudice and tradition that is both intimate in scale and awesome in achievement' IRISH INDEPENDENT


Melody Shee is alone and in trouble. Her husband doesn't take her news too well. She can't tell her father yet because he's a good man and this could break him. She's trying to stay in the moment, but the future is looming - larger by the day - while the past won't let her go. What she did to Breedie Flynn all those years ago still haunts her.

It's a good thing that she meets Mary Crothery when she does. Mary is a young Traveller woman, and she knows more about Melody than she lets on. She might just save Melody's life.

_________

'A joy to read, for all that it breaks your heart' INDEPENDENT

'One of the finest writers working in Ireland today ... worthy of Greek Drama' GUARDIAN

'A stunning piece of work, utterly truthful and emotionally powerful' JOSEPH O'CONNOR

'Work of genius ... I was entranced by it. Buckled by it' SEBASTIAN BARRY

The searing novel from the author of The Spinning Heart, The Thing About December and From a Low and Quiet Sea

About the Author
Donal Ryan is an award-winning author from Nenagh, County Tipperary, whose work has been published in over twenty languages to major critical acclaim. The Spinning Heart won the Guardian First Book Award, the EU Prize for Literature (Ireland), and Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards; it was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Desmond Elliott Prize, and was voted 'Irish Book of the Decade'. His fourth novel, From a Low and Quiet Sea, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2018, and won the Jean Monnet Prize for European Literature. His novel, Strange Flowers, was voted Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, and was a number one bestseller, as was his most recent novel The Queen of Dirt Island, which was also shortlisted for Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. Donal lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick. He lives with his wife Anne Marie and their two children just outside Limerick City.

Reviews
Poetic, powerful and heart-rending * The Times *
A joy to read, for all that it breaks your heart * Independent *
One of the finest writers working in Ireland today ... worthy of Greek drama * Guardian *
An exquisite account of womanhood, friendship, prejudice and tradition that is both intimate in scale and awesome in achievement * Irish Independent *
Work of genius ... I was entranced by it. Buckled by it. -- Sebastian Barry



Book Information
ISBN 9781784164997
Author Donal Ryan
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Black Swan
Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd
Weight(grams) 178g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 127mm * 16mm