Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023. In his beautiful, haunting novel, in which nothing is quite what it seems, Sebastian Barry explores what we live through, what we live with, and what may survive of us
Spanning nearly seven decades, this novel of memory, war, family ties and love showcases Sebastian Barry’s exquisite prose and gift for storytelling.
What is the sound of an 89-year-old heart breaking? It might not be much more than silence. Lilly Bere is mourning the loss of her grandson, Bill. Through her quiet grief, memories come flooding back. Lilly returns to the moment she is forced to flee Dublin, at the end of the Great War. Her destination is America, a new world filled with both hope and danger. At once epic and intimate, Lilly’s narrative unfurls as she tries to make sense of her life and of the lives she has touched.
Sebastian Barry
About the Author
Sebastian Barry is one of a small group of authors to have been nominated for the Booker Prize five timesOther nominated books by Sebastian Barry
Sebastian Barry’s atmospheric portrayal of America in the making is also an intensely poignant story of two men and the hands dealt them by life.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2008. Sebastian Barry’s haunting story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance, yet still marked by love, passion and hope.
Sebastian Barry’s powerful novel about the harsh realities of war examines the Great War from the perspective of Irish soldiers fighting for Britain.