Life Sentences by Billy O'Callaghan - ISBN: 9781529112962
Paperback
Irish family’s epic survival: famine, war, love, and stolen futures.

Life Sentences

the unforgettable Irish bestseller

$23.45

  • Paperback

    240 pages

  • Release Date

    12 April 2022

Check Delivery Options

Summary

A sweeping historical epic about one Irish family’s fight for survival.

Three generations. More than a century of famine, war, violence and love.

At sixteen Nancy, the only member of her family to survive the Great Famine, leaves her small island for the mainland. Finding work in a grand house on the edge of Cork City, she feels irrepressibly drawn to the charismatic gardener Michael Egan, sparking a love affair that soon throws her into a fight for her life.

In 1920, …

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781529112962
ISBN-10:1529112966
Author:Billy O'Callaghan
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Imprint:Vintage
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:240
Release Date:12 April 2022
Weight:193g
Dimensions:128mm x 128mm x 15mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

Momentous and epic storytelling.

Billy O’Callaghan’s writing is so good and true it feels almost magical; Life Sentences is a beautiful book, a small epic, a joy. – Sadie Jones
O’Callaghan is amongst the finest storytellers and wordsmiths in Ireland today. – Anne Griffin
A beautiful novel. – Eithne Shortall * Sunday Times Culture *
The strength of Life Sentences lies in its long range but intimate style … A reader could profitably finish the book and go straight back to its beginning – John Self * Spectator *
People who read Sebastian Barry, Donal Ryan, Liam O’Flaherty will really love [Life Sentences] … It’s my book of the year so far. – Ryan Tubridy * RTÉ Radio One *
A lovely, piercing book. – Sebastian Barry
Momentous and epic storytelling. – Bernard MacLaverty
A superb and moving novel … O’Callaghan is one of our finest writers, in the tradition of John McGahern and Brian Friel, and this is his best work yet. – John Banville * Sunday Independent Books of the Year *
Life Sentences brilliantly immerses us in its respective time periods, and … O’Callaghan’s natural gifts as a writer … the author often coming out with a stunning turn of phrase. – Barry Pierce * Sunday Times *
Lyrical, poignant, gripping … O’Callaghan weaves together a narrative that is compelling and dazzlingly rendered. – James Moran * Tablet, Novel of the Week *

About The Author

Billy O'Callaghan

Billy O’Callaghan is the author of the critically acclaimed novel My Coney Island Baby, which has been translated into nine languages and was shortlisted for the Encore Award 2020. Stories in his collection The Boatman and Other Stories were shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award and for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards. He lives in Douglas, a village on the edge of Cork City.

Returns

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.