Life Sentences
Published on 13. January 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-5291-1296-2 (ISBN)
Description
*THE #3 IRISH BESTSELLER*
'Momentous and epic' BERNARD MACLAVERTY
'Superb and moving' JOHN BANVILLE
'A lovely, piercing book' SEBASTIAN BARRY
Three generations. More than a century of famine, war, violence and love.
At sixteen Nancy, the only member of her family to survive the Great Famine, leaves her small island for the mainland. Finding work in a grand house on the edge of Cork City, she feels irrepressibly drawn to the charismatic gardener Michael Egan, sparking a love affair that soon throws her into a fight for her life.
In 1920, Nancy's son Jer has lived through battles of his own as a soldier in the Great War. Now drunk in a jail cell, he struggles to piece together where he has come from, and who he wants to be.
And in the early 1980s, Jer's youngest child Nellie is nearing the end of her life in a council house, moments away from her childhood home; remembering the night when she and her family stole back something that was rightfully theirs, she imagines what lies in store for those who will survive her.
'Brilliantly immerses us in its respective time periods' SUNDAY TIMES
'Momentous and epic' BERNARD MACLAVERTY
'Superb and moving' JOHN BANVILLE
'A lovely, piercing book' SEBASTIAN BARRY
Three generations. More than a century of famine, war, violence and love.
At sixteen Nancy, the only member of her family to survive the Great Famine, leaves her small island for the mainland. Finding work in a grand house on the edge of Cork City, she feels irrepressibly drawn to the charismatic gardener Michael Egan, sparking a love affair that soon throws her into a fight for her life.
In 1920, Nancy's son Jer has lived through battles of his own as a soldier in the Great War. Now drunk in a jail cell, he struggles to piece together where he has come from, and who he wants to be.
And in the early 1980s, Jer's youngest child Nellie is nearing the end of her life in a council house, moments away from her childhood home; remembering the night when she and her family stole back something that was rightfully theirs, she imagines what lies in store for those who will survive her.
'Brilliantly immerses us in its respective time periods' SUNDAY TIMES
Reviews / Votes
Billy O'Callaghan's writing is so good and true it feels almost magical; Life Sentences is a beautiful book, a small epic, a joy. -- Sadie Jones O'Callaghan is amongst the finest storytellers and wordsmiths in Ireland today. -- Anne Griffin A beautiful novel. -- Eithne Shortall * Sunday Times Culture * The strength of Life Sentences lies in its long range but intimate style . . . A reader could profitably finish the book and go straight back to its beginning -- John Self * Spectator * People who read Sebastian Barry, Donal Ryan, Liam O'Flaherty will really love [Life Sentences] . . . It's my book of the year so far. -- Ryan Tubridy * RTE Radio One * A lovely, piercing book. -- Sebastian Barry Momentous and epic storytelling. -- Bernard MacLaverty A superb and moving novel . . . O'Callaghan is one of our finest writers, in the tradition of John McGahern and Brian Friel, and this is his best work yet. -- John Banville * Sunday Independent *Books of the Year* * Life Sentences brilliantly immerses us in its respective time periods, and . . . O'Callaghan's natural gifts as a writer . . . the author often coming out with a stunning turn of phrase. -- Barry Pierce * Sunday Times * Lyrical, poignant, gripping . . . O'Callaghan weaves together a narrative that is compelling and dazzlingly rendered. -- James Moran * Tablet, *Novel of the Week* *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
194 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5291-1296-2 (9781529112962)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2021
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Billy O'Callaghan is the author of the critically acclaimed novel My Coney Island Baby, which has been translated into nine languages and was shortlisted for the Encore Award 2020. Stories in his collection The Boatman and Other Stories were shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award and for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards. He lives in Douglas, a village on the edge of Cork City.