Critical Praise

"Extraordinary... . It is my belief that in the very finest fiction the author disappears, sometimes even along with his or her gender. It doesn't happen very often. But it does here. You don't see a man, telling a woman's story with an accuracy and sensitivity you might not have thought possible. You see a woman telling her own story. You only see her. Finally."

——Elizabeth Berg, The Boston Book Review

"Astonishing... With this book, Doyle attains a new level of excellence. He writes about a woman's experience with a perception that is rare, a compassion that is scorching and an uncompromising frankness that splinters his heroine's suffering directly into the reader's heart. Doyle triumphs here, with a tough minded but deeply moving exploration of a wretched marriage, a microcosm of a pervasive situation in Ireland that few will acknowledge."

——Publishers Weekly

"This is a powerful new novel once again reveals Doyle's extraordinary ear for capturing the rich, earthy speech of the Irish working class and his remarkable ability for creating vivid, unforgettable characters ... Paula, who never succumbs to self-pity, also triumphs in the readers' hearts. Highly recommended."

——Library Journal