A Long Long Way (45 page)

Annie Dunne

“Annie’s passionate observations and shifting moods — rendered in dense prose that’s close to poetry — fuel this fine novel.”

— The New York Times Book Review

“A subtle but powerful novel of a spinster’s life in the Irish countryside rises to great emotional heights ... This is a deliciously poetic book.” —
The Washington Post

“Superb ... Annie emerges from the novel as one of the most memorable women in Irish fiction.”

—
San Francisco Chronicle

It is 1959 in Wicklow, Ireland, and Annie and her cousin Sarah are living and working together to keep Sarah’s small farm running. Suddenly, Annie’s young niece and nephew are left in their care. Unprepared for the chaos that the two children inevitably bring, but nervously excited nonetheless, Annie finds the interruption of her normal life and her last chance at happiness complicated further by the attention being paid to Sarah by a local man with his eye on the farm.

A summer of adventure, pain, delight, and, ultimately, epiphany unfolds for both the children and their caretakers in this poignant and exquisitely told story of innocence, loss, and reconciliation.

ISBN 0-14-200287-9

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The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty

“It’s a symphony of a novel, and you’ll sing along and wander with Eneas McNulty into the next century.”

— Frank McCourt

“Magnificent ... No one who loves fiction will want to reach the end of this bewitching, penetrating, unforgettable book.”

—
San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

“The story that emerges through Barry’s lens is so cohesive, so gracefully rendered, that his words have the stony allure of the Irish poets and the lyrical pull of an epic storyteller ... A beautiful story.” —
The Boston Globe

For Eneas McNulty, a happy, innocent childhood in County Sligo in the early 1900s gives way to an Ireland wracked by violence and conflict. Unable to find work in the depressed times after World War I, Eneas joins the British-led police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary — a decision that alters the course of his life. Branded a traitor by Irish nationalists and pursued by IRA hit-men, Eneas is forced to flee his homeland, his family, and Viv, the woman he loves. His wandering terminates on the Isle of Dogs, a haven for sailors, where a lifetime of loss is redeemed by a final act of generosity.

Written with passion and a tender wit,
The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty
is the story of a lost man and a compelling saga that illuminates Ireland’s heartbreaking and complex history.

ISBN 0-14-028018-9

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