One of our Great Reads You May Have Missed in 2012.
With some absolutely stunning rave reviews from established authors Solace is as tender as it is heartbreaking and a brilliant debut from an exciting new voice in Irish fiction. Solace is a work to be admired for its spare, intense lyricism, its range, and its deeply compassionate portrayal of life as it is lived now.
Mark Casey has left home, the rural Irish community where his family has farmed the same land for generations, to study for a doctorate in Dublin, a vibrant, contemporary city full of possibility. To his father, Tom, who needs help baling the hay and ploughing the fields, Mark's pursuit isn't work at all, and indeed Mark finds himself whiling away his time with pubs and parties. His is a life without focus or responsibility, until he meets Joanne Lynch, a trainee solicitor whom he finds irresistible. Joanne too has a past to escape from and for a brief time she and Mark share the chaos and rapture of a new love affair, until the lightning strike of tragedy changes everything.
'A wonderful novel. I was deeply moved by the story. An outstanding debut.' John Boyne, author of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas
'It's a powerful and beautifully paced novel.' Catherine Flynn, author of Costa winner, What was Lost
'An elegant, consuming and richly inspired novel. A superb debut. This
one will last.' Colum McCann
'A novel of quiet power, filled with
moments of carefully-told truth ...this book will appeal to readers both
young and old. It will be much-loved and a treasured book by readers everywhere.' Colm Toibin
'A story of clear-eyed compassion and
quiet intelligence.' Anne Enright
Author
About Belinda McKeon
Belinda McKeon, an award-winning playwright, was born in Ireland in 1979. She studied literature at Trinity College, Dublin, and is a contributor to the Irish Times. McKeon has an MFA from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband.
