Like its beautifully written predecessor, Two Moons, Jennifer Johnston's latest novel is set in the village of Dalkey, just south of Dublin. There are shared themes too. Adult children wrestle with identity under the shadow of their parents, that of their mothers especially. Tragic events are repressed with varying degrees of success. Mental breakdown is an imminent, if at times surprisingly comic, threat. But the world she creates here is all its own: powerfully drawn characters extend the familiar in new ways, leading to an exploration of contemporary values, in both the South and the North of Ireland.

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