The iconic debut novel by 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel) and 'the Irish novelist everyone should read' (Colm Tóibín) - where ''the ending is one the finest I've ever read by an Irish writer'(Claire Keegan).Elizabeth Reegan, after years of freedom - and loneliness - marries into the enclosed Irish village of her upbringing. The children are not her own; her husband is straining to break free from the servile security of the police force; and her own life, threatened by illness, seems to be losing the last vestiges of its purpose. Moving between tragedy and savage comedy, desperation and joy, John McGahern's first novel is one of haunting power.'One of the greatest Irish writers. 'Cillian Murphy'Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.' David Mitchell 'Reminds one of the young Joyce ... McGahern is the real thing.' Spectator