Showing results by author "Bernard MacLaverty" in All Categories

For Cal, some of the choices are devastatingly simple.... He can work in an abattoir that nauseates him or join the dole queue; he can brood on his past or plan a future with Marcella. Springing out of the fear and violence of Ulster, Cal is a haunting love story in a land were tenderness and innocence can only flicker briefly in the dark.

An intense exploration of love and uncertainty when a long-married couple, Gerry and Stella, take a midwinter break in Amsterdam to refresh the senses, do some sightseeing and generally take stock of their lives. Their relationship seems easy, familiar - but over its course we discover the deep uncertainties between them. Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Stella is tired of his lifestyle and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith.

On a promontory jutting out into the Atlantic wind stands the Home run by Brother Benedict, where boys are taught a little of God and a lot of fear. To Michael Lamb, one of the youngest brothers, the regime is without hope, and when he inherits a small legacy he defies his elders and runs away, taking with him a twelve-year-old boy, Owen Kane. Radio Eireann call it a kidnapping. For Michael the act is the beginning of Owen's salvation.

In his first novel in 16 years, highly distinguished Irish writer Bernard MacLaverty draws a tender picture of a married couple on their winter trip to Amsterdam. Gerry and Stella seem to be one of those couples who learned to read each other's minds a long time ago. But the biting wind from the North Sea can scatter the appearance of happiness and bring out other longings. Garry and Stella will have to answer the question of whether or not there's still room in their life for another big change?