She discovers a box of letters from Edward Foley, the father she never met and whom she was told had died when she was an infant, and realizes she has little idea who Patricia was outside her role as a mother. University professor Elizabeth Keane flies to Ireland to clean out her mother Patricia’s house in Buncarragh and ready it for sale. This compelling new novel confirms Graham Norton’s status as a fresh, literary voice, bringing his clear-eyed understanding of human nature and its darkest flaws.A daughter discovers layers of secrets surrounding her parentage when she returns to Ireland to settle her mother’s estate.

She has no sense of where she is going, only that she must keep on. And perhaps, had she not found the small stash of letters, the truth would never have come to light.Ĥ0 years earlier, a young woman stumbles from a remote stone house, the night quiet but for the tireless wind that circles her as she hurries further into the darkness away from the cliffs and the sea. The house of her childhood is stuffed full of useless things, her mother’s presence already fading. There is nothing here for her she wonders if there ever was. And then the tide turns.Įlizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after her mother’s death, intent only on wrapping up that dismal part of her life. The truth drifts out to sea, riding the waves out of sight. ’ ANDREW O’HAGANįrom the bestselling author of Holding comes a masterly tale of secrets and ill-fated loves set on the coast of Ireland. ‘Perfectly crafted, a beautiful, gripping account of Irish memory and deceit. ‘Charming and tender, a complete joy.’ SUNDAY MIRROR ‘It’s a sad and lovely book, brimful of tenderness and compassion, where the revelations of the past upturn the perceptions of the present.’ SUNDAY EXPRESS ‘Smart, well-written and thoroughly entertaining.’ IRISH INDEPENDENT ‘Moving and darkly funny.’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING ‘A gripping, thoughtful tale about the search for identity, belonging and self-possession.’ OBSERVER

Will easily be one of my books of 2018.’ JOHN BOYNE A powerful, very sad story, beautiful writing, two time frames that are perfectly balanced. ‘I raved about Holding two years ago … A Keeper is even better. His grasp of human loneliness and longing is beautiful and comforting.’ MARIAN KEYES ‘Magnificent … his writing is evocative and perfect. ‘A compelling and moving story, expertly told, that will draw you in and keep you in its grip until the last page.’ DAILY EXPRESS ‘Atmospheric, creepy and impossible to put down.’ the TIMES

Graham norton novel a keeper