There were no saints in any era, Tom knew, just good men and bad, and sometimes both in the one bottle.
Retired policeman Tom Kettle is enjoying the quiet of his new home, a lean toannexed to a white Victorian Castle in Dalkey overlooking the sea. Formonths he has barely seen a soul, but his peace is interrupted when two former colleagues turn up at his door to ask questions about a decades-oldcase. A traumatic case which Tom never quite came to terms with.
His peace is further disturbed by a young mother and family who move innext door, a woman on the run from her own troubles. And what of Tom’s family, his wife June and their two children?
A beautiful, haunting novel, in which nothing is not quite what it seems, Old God’s Time is about what we live through, what we live with, and what will survive of us.
‘Few can write like Sebastian Barry, there is a real thrill as each sentence unfolds. Old God’s Time is a portrait of a good man facing the failings of his past. It is wonderfully alive because Barry is so attuned to the human condition, to the poetry in ordinary lives. Full of love and grief and heartache, this is an unforgettable novel from one of our finest writers.’ – Douglas Stuart
‘His work reminds us how much we need these rare gifts of the natural storyteller.’ – Tessa Hadley
‘Barry is the laureate of empathy.’ – Sunday Independent
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Publication date: 23/02/2023
Old God’s Time
by Sebastian Barry
Review by Bel
This is a completely original, superbly literary take on the detective novel. Tom Kettle is a highly unreliable but utterly loveable narrator, who I desperately wish I could hug and keep safe. Barry’s observations of character are tender, subtle and incredibly affecting.
This book is about so much more than the difficult subject matter at its heart (Be warned, there are confronting but not gratuitous references to child sexual abuse.) It’s about the effect trauma can have on memory, but most of all it’s about love. Barry’s descriptions of love are profound and understated. He sure can craft an exquisite sentence, and this book is full of them. They held me captive to the end of this incredibly sad yet beautiful story. Harrowing at times but absolute magic. (And to cap it off, you can hear the Irish lilt as you read! Highly recommend.
SCORPIO BOOKS
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
120 Hereford Street
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 379 2882
TELLING TALES
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
101-111 Cashel St
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 741 3309
FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CANTERBURY
($4 RURAL SURCHARGE)
FREE NZ SHIPPING FOR ORDERS OVER $100