When it was first published, Bernard MacLaverty's masterpiece was hailed by Michael Gorra in the New York Times Book Review as "a marvel of technical perfection...a most moving novel whose emotional impact is grounded in a complete avoidance of sentimentality...[It] will become the Passage to India of the Troubles." For Cal, a Northern Irish teenager who, against his will, is involved in the terrible war between Catholics and Protestants, some of the choices are devastatingly simple: he can work in the slaughterhouse that nauseates him or join the dole line; he can brood on his past or plan a future with the beautiful, widowed Marcella for whose grief he shares more than a little responsibility.
- Year Published:
- 2024
- ISBN:
- 9780393354683
- Language:
- English
- Publication Date:
- Invalid date
- Place of Publication:
- New York
- SKU:
- 9780393354683
Bernard MacLaverty is the author of five previous collections of stories and five novels, including Grace Notes, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Midwinter Break, shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. Born in Ireland, he now lives in Glasgow, Scotland.
"A formidable fictional triumph." -- Observer "Miraculously vivid precision...[MacLaverty] is a born novelist." -- Spectator "To fashion a short, telling novel out of the hideous complexities of Northern Ireland takes narrative skill of a high order. In Cal Bernard MacLaverty has managed to do it superbly." -- Daily Telegraph "Cal is a hard, dark gemstone of a book." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer "As a distillation of the dread and the guilt, the seeming futilities and momentary releases of life in Troubles-era Northern Ireland, it's indelible." -- Emily Firetog - Literary Hub