IRISH INDEPENDENT 'It's a sad and lovely book, brimful of tenderness and compassion, where the revelations of the past upturn the perceptions of the present. A compelling and moving story, expertly told, that will draw you in and keep you in its grip until the last page. Graham Norton has fast become my go-to author when I’m in need of a guaranteed good read or a reading reset. who knows what drives people to try to set things right ,and instead making it a kidnapping nightmare. We know from the first page (the chapter known as "Before") that a POV character is in great distress after some type of turbulent event in which an official vehicle has arrived.

I had a couple of “eye roll” moments with this book, and I noticed several detail oversights, but this was an excellent read for me. Elizabeth’s loneliness is ever present though never overplayed, and her difficult ties with her extended family oscillate between frustration, anger, regret and resignation. Now”: Only child Elizabeth Keane, a 44-year-old college instructor, divorcée and mother to 17-year-old Zach, living in a tiny apartment in Manhattan, travels to Ireland to finalize her recently deceased mother’s estate in Buncarragh. She comes across some handwritten letters to her mother from a man by the name of Edward Foley in Cork.

Graham's writing is effortless; his Irish roots are very much evident and he uses that to his advantage. This compelling new novel confirms Graham Norton’s status as a fresh, literary voice, bringing his clear-eyed understanding of human nature and its darkest flaws. We certainly didn't see it coming and when it arrives it will knock the chair right out from under you. Patricia is a bit lonely and when her friend pushes her to put an ad in a farmer's magazine she ends up starting correspondence with a man named Edward Foley. He is the host of the comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show and the BBC commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.

There was a creepy ‘Rebecca’ feel to Patricia’s sections, the isolated house perched alongside a ruined castle on the wild coast – Ireland, not Cornwall, but still – a strange man, a crazed old woman, and secrets galore! Of course, she is not there for guidance so she turns to her divorced husband to step in and be a father, something he has done little of before this. instead we get an in-depth look at while Nicole (the cousin's wife) is somewhat unhappy with her lot in life, but after that the explanation goes no further. I never watch talk shows, however I know who Mr Norton is, and I admit I was intrigued by the fact that he has accomplished two novels, both receiving many positive reviews.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

From there we have Elizabeth traveling back to where her father lived and finding out about what led her mother to him all of those years ago. He is visiting his gay father, Elliot in California, a man he has seen little of since his parents acrimonious split. The snarky ex-husband didn't go over well either and actually just disappeared out of the end of the story, never to be heard from again. She is a university lecturer, separated from her husband, and living in New York with her 17-year-old son. I cannot say much here it would ruin the story ,very sad thread in it and a desperate act that tore lives apart.Alternating between "Now" and "Then" storylines, the backstory is revealed, and we see the connection between "now" and "then". Add to this Elizabeth's awkwardness and frustrations, the quirkiness of everyone she comes across, and little moments of beauty, and you have the unusual combination that comes together to make this book absolutely wonderful. But nobody seems to know anything about Edward Foley, and the deeper she digs she discovers that she knows nothing about where she came from.

There wasn’t a single character here I didn’t like, or at least sympathize with (including Edward’s deranged mother Catherine) and I loved the setting. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. She has very little there, unpleasant memories, items of small value, but all that changes when she finds a small stash of letters telling a story that she was never told. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. i loved this book it had me in from the first page it moved at a quick pace a heartbreaking story that will play with your emotions as it did mine.I wasn't bored for one minute, I thought the story unfolded very well , with new snippets of information added all the time. Maybe I have been reading too much Tana French and Maeve Binchy, but the book didn't feel "Irish" to me. While it took Margaret Mitchell 10 years to compose 'Gone With the Wind', and 12 years for Victor Hugo to finish 'Les Miserables', Graham Norton appears to have thrown this together over the course of a rainy Saturday afternoon and published it the following Monday without any further thought or attention.