Turning For Home

Barney Norris Doubleday €18.10 As a senior civil servant in Northern Ireland, Robert Shawcross played a key role in bringing the IRA to the negotiating table. Now long retired and mourning his wife’s death, he receives a call from an old contact who is worried that the British are about to open a can of worms by reinvestigating historical crimes. Meanwhile, his relatives gather to celebrate his 80th birthday – among them his granddaughter Kate, recovering from anorexia. Norris skilfully explores themes of identity and reconciliation in a deeply moving and ultimately uplifting novel.

Anthony Gardner