Old God's TimeA novel that had us in its haunting thrall earlier this year  — in fact, it was a Book of the Month, and a Star Book — seeing that Sebastian Barry’s Old God’s Time had been longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023 prompted a re-read. Given that this second reading came mere months after it was published tells you everything you need to know about how powerful a story this is.

In short, if you love potently-voiced, thought-provoking literary fiction and haven’t yet read Old God’s Time, what are you waiting for? It’s a stirring story that explores the legacies of historic child abuse in Ireland through a widowed former detective who’s forced to confront a case from his past.

It’s also a story of loss, grief and enduring love that explores how trauma impacts memory. If that wasn’t enough, Old God’s Time also provokes thought on the nature of truth. 

Being a novel you’re likely to race through, and feel compelled to re-read to ponder more deeply, Old God’s Time is also perfect for book groups. So, read on for some questions to get your discussions going. 

Want more ideas for your Book Club gatherings? Browse our Book Club category, and discover more reading group questions. 

1. Discuss the suitability and relevance of the title. 

2. What role does landscape play in the novel?

3. Unpack the description of Tom as being “the orphan of his former happiness”. Discuss in relation to his family and profession.

4. At what point did you begin to question the reliability of the narrator? What did you think of the novel’s narrative perspective? It’s written in the third-person, but we’re always deeply inside Tom’s mind.

5. What did you think of the almost magic realist aspects of the novel? For example, the unicorn.

6. Discuss the references to the biblical story of Job. Is Tom a modern-day Job?

7. Why might the author have chosen to explore child abuse in Ireland from this perspective?

8. If you’re a long-time reader of Sebastian Barry’s novels, how does Old God’s Time fit into his wider body of work? To what extent does this novel chime with, or depart from, his previous work?

9. If this is the first time you’ve read anything by Barry, are you now keen to read his other novels? Why/why not?