** A SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER **

** Chosen as a Spectator, Irish Times and Irish Independent Book of the Year **

THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FOSTER, ANTARCTICA AND WALK THE BLUE FIELDS

WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION AND THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE AND THE IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AT THE DALKEY LITERARY AWARDS

'A single one of Keegan's grounded, powerful sentences can contain volumes of social history. Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving.' Hilary Mantel (Winner of the Booker Prize 2009 and 2012)

'This is a tale of courage and compassion, of good sons and vulnerable young mothers. Absolutely beautiful.' Douglas Stuart (Winner of the Booker Prize 2020)

'Marvellous-exact and icy and loving all at once.' Sarah Moss

'A haunting, hopeful masterpiece.' Sinead Gleeson

** A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK**
**CHOSEN AS A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME**

It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.

The long-awaited new work from the author of Foster, Small Things Like These is an unforgettable story of hope, quiet heroism and tenderness.

'Astonishing. Claire Keegan makes her moments real - and then she makes them matter.' Colm Toibin

'A true gift of a book. a sublime Chekhovian shock.' Andrew O'Hagan

'A moral tale that is unsentimental and deeply affecting, because true and right.' David Hayden

An exquisite winter tale of courage, and its cost -- set in Catholic Ireland.

About the Author
Claire Keegan was brought up on a farm in Ireland. Her stories have won numerous awards and are translated into more than 20 languages. Foster was named by The Times as one of the top 50 novels to be published in the 21st Century. Keegan is now holding the Briena Staunton Fellowship at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Reviews
'A haunting, hopeful masterpiece.' - Sinead Gleeson

'A moral tale that is unsentimental and deeply affecting, because true and right.' - David Hayden



Book Information
ISBN 9780571368686
Author Claire Keegan
Format Hardback
Page Count 128
Imprint Faber & Faber
Publisher Faber & Faber
Weight(grams) 238g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 9mm