The celebrated second novel by 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel) and 'the Irish novelist everyone should read' (Colm Toibin) is 'a perfectly written tour de force' (Sunday Times) and 'the best novel to come out of Ireland in many years.' (Irish Times)

Set in rural Ireland, John McGahern's second novel is about adolescence and a guilty, yet uncontrollable sexuality that is contorted and twisted by both puritanical state religion and a strange, powerful and ambiguous relationship between son and widower father. Against a background evoked with quiet mastery, McGahern explores with precision and tenderness a human situation, superficially very ordinary, but inwardly an agony of longing and despair.

'Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.' David Mitchell
'I have admired, even loved, John McGahern's work since his first novel.' Melvyn Bragg

The celebrated second novel by 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel) and 'the Irish novelist everyone should read' (Colm Toibin) is 'a perfectly written tour de force' (Sunday Times).

About the Author
John McGahern was born in Dublin in 1934 and brought up in the Republic of Ireland. He trained to be a primary-school teacher before becoming a full-time writer, and later taught and travelled extensively. He lived in County Leitrim. The author of six highly acclaimed novels and four collections of short stories, he was the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including a Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship, the American-Irish Award, the Prix Etrangere Ecureuil and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Amongst Women, which won both the GPA and the Irish Times Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made into a four-part BBC television series. His work appeared in numerous anthologies and has been translated into many languages. In 2005, his autobiography, Memoir, won the South Bank Literature Award. McGahern died in 2006.


Book Information
ISBN 9780571225675
Author John McGahern
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint Faber & Faber
Publisher Faber & Faber
Weight(grams) 160g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 21mm