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Beautifully written, a light touch that nonetheless brings the pain and fear of Northern Ireland at the peak of the troubles to life. Cushla is not an easy to like protagonist but her challenges, her ambiguous relationship with her religion, her deep care for her student soften off the edges of some of her poorer decisions. Would be a five star read but for the fact I was a bit icked out by the ‘great love story‘ which felt v unhealthy to me

Loved this. The narrative voice is amazing, really enjoyed the characters. It reminded me quite a bit of Derry Girls in its tone and humor.

Cushla, a young Catholic woman, starts a relationship with an older married Protestant man during the Troubles in Ireland. Although they don‘t live in the heart of the violence, the relationship is not without danger and a series of seemingly unrelated events creates chaos. I found this a fascinating lens with which to look at how the Troubles and the prejudice affected everyone during the period, even those not in Belfast.

A quiet but challenging book. Two foreigners - a French linguist and an English painter - arrive on a very small Irish-speaking Irish island in the 1970s, each with their own agenda. The story of the island is interspersed with matter of fact paragraphs of incidents from the Troubles. Asks questions about the impact and demands of foreigners on a small community, and how those butt up against the community‘s own needs and desires.

Recent acquisitions:

📖 Country: A Novel by Michael Hughes
📖 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (I collect editions of Tess and this is my 30th)

#fREADom #UniteAgainstBookBans

Joining #12Booksof2023 late, but this was my January pick, interweaving the stories of several individuals and one kidnapping to describe the Troubles and some of their aftermath.

#12Booksof2023 March

A book about a mother raising her 10 children alone who goes missing in 1972 at the high of The Troubles.

How was this possible? How did this impact her children? What else was happening in Northern Ireland that got more attention that a missing person?

I enjoyed going back to 1970‘s Northern Ireland, a time & place I don‘t read about often. Cushla is a teacher by day and a bar maid at her family‘s pub in the evenings, living a quiet life with her alcoholic mom when she meets Michael. A secret affair begins…

14-26 Nov 2023
Belfast 1975. A young Catholic school teacher who works shifts in her family pub embarks on an affair with a married, middle aged and Protestant barrister. It is intimated at the outset that he becomes another victim of the Troubles.
All of which might make it seem this book is predictable and routine. But somehow it is not. The writing is wonderful and Cushla is a flawed but fully rendered protagonist, as are many other characters.

Just starting to really enjoy this when I found my hardcover version goes from page 54 back to 23! (It then proceeds to page 54 again before skipping to 87). Has this happened to others? Very tempted to keep reading or to start the audio but am going to try to be patient and start something else whilst waiting the 5+ weeks for the bookseller to send another version.