A timely blogtour post for the beginning of 12th Reading Ireland month, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. Although Hurtubise is American, she has lived in Ireland for 25 years, and her second novel is set in Dublin and Donegal.
The story begins with recognition, in the form of being awarded a prestigious art prize and a major show of her work in Dublin, for artist Saoirse. Something that scares her stiff, hiding away as she does in the wilds of Donegal with husband Daithí and daughters Leah and baby Eloise.
She is aware of the scale and prestige of this upcoming exhibition – but what she hadn’t reckoned on was the scope of Fiona’s ambitions, her plans to not only curate the work but also to document Saoirse’s journey, to make a big deal of the trajectory that has brought her to this place most artists will only ever dream of reaching. Her resistance to this success, she fears, will bring its own suspicions.
Nine years earlier, she was boarding a plane in Boston for Ireland on a passport stolen from her Irish friend Sasa who looks enough like her to fool everyone so far. She will become Sarah Walsh, twenty-years-old, born in Ireland but living in the US since childhood. The youngish man in the seat next to her introduces himself as Paul, a medic, he seems friendly enough, but she’s still wary of making a mistake in conversation. When they land, having discovered that Sarah has no place to go, Paul offers to put her up at his parents house until she gets on her feet. She accepts gratefully. They’ll end up on the couch, but Paul takes it further than Sarah wanted to consent to. When she realises she is pregnant, she is trapped – with a partner she now reviles, who wants to control her every move. Paul’s father comes up with a solution, she could move into the garden annex and use it as an art studio. But she’s still trapped, her pregnancy holding her hostage.
The chapters alternate between earlier and later. Many of the later ones encompass Sarah’s, who now calls herself Saoirse, art and the memories that inspired her to paint each painting in the exhibition, told as flashbacks to her childhood past. Some include newspaper articles, about the award, a missing teenager and more.
Saoirse’s dilemma gets ever deeper, until Daithí comes into the picture. But it takes time for her to decide to trust him. Even then she doesn’t tell him her full story, why she ran from the US; why she can’t tell him who she really is…
Hurtubise reveals Saoirse’s story cleverly, with snatches in those memories inspired by her art, but as the publicity around her grows, we know the truth will out. but I won’t spoil the novel further. You can really feel for Saoirse, who isn’t as old in actuality as the passport said. She’s still a teen when she meets Paul. She shows all the emotional confusion of young adulthood, only finding release in her work. As for Paul and Daithí – they are complete opposites – dominant and controlling versus kind and empathetic. (Daithí is a keeper!) Of Paul’s family, only his father Joseph is at all sympathetically portrayed, the rest of them are all on Paul’s side.
The build-up to the climax in this drama is full of suspense, and the will-they-won’t-they nature of Saoirse and Daithí’s romance keeps us on tenterhooks. It also helps that Hurtubise is an artist, having an informed knowledge when describing Saoirse’s artworks; she also writes about the Donegal scenery beautifully. It’s a heady mixture that kept me from putting the book down, I read it in two sessions. I can heartily recommend this fine novel.
Source: Review copy – thank you. Bonnier eriu hardback, 2026, 247 pages. BUY at Waterstones via my affiliate link.
