Book description
It is the late 1940s in rural Ireland, and Kathleen Steele has been
prematurely thrust into adulthood by the death of her twin sister,
Nuala. Debilitated by grief, their mother has descended into a state of
near-catatonia, and it is left to Kathleen to care for her younger
siblings, and her taciturn father.
When a traumatised young man, Joseph Foley, mysteriously appears in the
small farming community, a tentative love affair develops. But as Mrs
Steele’s illness deepens, Kathleen’s relationship with her father grows
ever more disturbing. When Kathleen agrees to marry Joseph, her mother
begins to regain her health. But by then it has become clear that the
events of the intervening years will cast a dark shadow over the new
generation.
Tender and unblinking, The Road to the Sea
is a novel about faith and fidelity, about the heart’s ability to
break, and to heal. A paean to the lost landscapes and communities of
Ireland, and a meditation on the responsibilities of parents, this is an
exquisite debut from a young novelist of great promise. Ciara Hegarty
was born in London and, as a child, spent her summers with family in Co
Cork, Ireland. She studied English Language at Kings College London and
now lives in Dorset with her two children.
