THE DAYTIME READ

The latest from awardwinning author Niven Govinden, This Brutal House (Dialogue Books, approx €18, out June 6), centres on the silent protest of five ageing “Mothers” – queer men who’ve opened their homes to countless lost children so they can discover their gender and sexuality in the spaces of “Houses” – places they are safe and accepted. But their children have gradually been going missing, with their absences ignored by the authorities. The Mothers reach breaking point and are compelled to act: staging a protest of a different kind – 200 outside a church, they want to pray; to mourn their losses and make known struggles until justice is done. For as long as it takes, they will wait; they are entitled to do so, and to their anger. It won’t be easy; watching, city clerk Teddy, raised by the Mothers, must broker a truce once he realises they intend to stay put – until they are heard. This powerful LGBTQ+ story is utterly compelling – a vital book.