The North Water

Ian McGuire Scribner €10.99 This brutal but gripping historical novel is set on a whaling ship in the Arctic during the mid-19th Century. An impecunious young Irishman joins the crew as the ship’s doctor, only to find himself taxed to the limit by horrific events. McGuire’s use of language is extraordinary and disturbing – as is his depiction of the evil that men do.

Simon Shaw