Product Description

Julia, whose young son Sam has died, flees to the west of Ireland to stay with her father-in-law Jeremiah, an old farmer, still living in a rundown farmhouse. In his silent company, Julia stumbles upon the secrets of her husband's family.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #738378 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'The Boy in the Moon confirms O'Riordan's status as a writer of wit, originality and delicacy who can surprise and delight at every turn.' Sunday Tribune 'A pacy, thriller-like plot...the characters are vivid and the observations tartly accurate.' Irish Times 'Exquisitely spare in execution, this is a haunting examination of human strength and frailty.' Time Out

Customer Reviews

A moving and gripping story.
This is the story of family tragedy both past and present. The bulk of the story takes place in the west coast of Ireland when Julie, Brian and their son Sam go to spend Christmas with Brian's family. What happens on the way changes all of their lives forever.

Julie decides to stay in Ireland with her dark and brooding father-in-law and while she is there she uncovers family secrets and the truth about her troubled and childish husband.

The book moves through past and present effortlessly as we are drawn into Brian's past - ultimately it is the past that explains the present and this is why it must be brought to light.

The book is absolutley gripping throughout. I found that I couldn't stop reading it. It was moving and tragic and kept you guessing all the time. Themes of love and hate, life and death - and of course family - are explored and Kate O'Riordan is not afraid to look at the darker side of human emotions.

I can only give it strong recommendation.

disturbing
This book was fascinating - and it disturbed me. All through the book I kept asking myself, "What would I do if I found myself in Julia's shoes?". I stayed up all night to finish it. The ending doesn't let you down. It is a wonderful portrait of love, marriage, families, relationships, the whole lot - and it packs enough punches to leave you thinking about it for days afterwards.

A moving, funny, fabulous story
This is a book that drags the reader through the whole gamut of emotions. Not one, but two, wonderful heroes, brothers brought up in poverty and brutality who win through to achieve some measure of personal happiness - but at a cost.