Trespasses
A Novel
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4.1 • 63 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
“Brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking.”—J.Courtney Sullivan, New York Times Book Review
“TRESPASSES vaults Kennedy into the ranks of such contemporary masters as McCann, Claire Keegan, Colin Barrett, and fellow Sligo resident, Kevin Barry.” —Oprah Daily
Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a shattering novel about a young woman caught between allegiance to community and a dangerous passion.
Amid daily reports of violence, Cushla lives a quiet life with her mother in a small town near Belfast, teaching at a parochial school and moonlighting at her family’s pub. There she meets Michael Agnew, a Protestant barrister who’s made a name for himself defending IRA members. Against her better judgment, Cushla lets herself get drawn in by him and his sophisticated world, and an affair ignites. Then the father of a student is savagely beaten, setting in motion a chain reaction that will threaten everything, and everyone, Cushla most wants to protect.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kennedy (The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac) delivers an engaging if sometimes clunky story of a forbidden affair between a Catholic and a Protestant during the Troubles. In the mid-1970s, Cushla Lavery, a 24-year-old Catholic teacher, falls in love with Michael Agnew, an older married Protestant barrister who has a reputation for defending the rights of the Catholics. Their clandestine meetings start once Michael asks Cushla to give him and his friends Irish lessons, and soon they're spending nights together. Kennedy does a marvelous job at portraying Cushla's immense guilt and passion sparked by the affair, which offers a much-needed distraction for her from the bombings and murders claimed by the IRA and the UDA. While the romance is at the center of the story, Cushla's friendship with one of her primary school students whose father is almost killed during a sectarian attack and her troubled relationship with her alcoholic mother add substance. The straightforward prose style can be wearing in its endless accrual of detail, but Kennedy does a lovely job at capturing Cushla's mixed feelings and her determination to live her life during wartime. A solid character portrait emerges from the turbulent backdrop.
Customer Reviews
Slow burn but worth the wait
I’m glad I stuck with Trespasses. A moving portrait of ordinary people in extraordinary times.
A great read
A love story, a history of a heart breaking reality..
Awful
I guess I’m spoiled by follet and others but this is a boring story that I couldn’t finish. Ugg