This is an absolutely lovely reflection on life. Our narrator tells his story from his kitchen table waiting for his wife and children to return home. It is a reflection of how our environment informs our lives, on the mythologies we create around the choices we make and those that have been made for us.

A wonderful book with writing that would make Joyce proud.

This is a great book. It's a shame it was not shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Beautiful. Just beautiful. And haunting and full of joy, heartache and love.

Marcus Conway sits at his kitchen table and removers his life in a small town in Ireland. Beautifully written amazing novel.

After winning the Goldsmith book award this fantastic novel started generating a lot of buzz and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this before its release in the US.
Marcus Conway is a civil engineer in Mayo Ireland who is reflecting back on his life, entirely through stream of consciousness, while he is waiting on his family.
We learn of his father and how he engrained a love for engineering, the news and politics, his daughter Agnes,and how she becomes a famous artist simply by changing her medium (her own blood mixed with oil paints), his son Darragh who lives on the other side of the world (Australia) and perhaps my favorite, his wife Mairead and all the ups and downs that come with a long marraige.
I don't want to give anything away but this powerhouse of a novel is deeply personal and well worth the read, especially if you enjoy stream of consciousness!