First published 2003
Annie Dunne works the land in County Wicklow alongside her cousin Sarah. The year is somewhere in the 1950s, and their rural farm feels the pull of a country shifting beneath their feet. Annie watches the old ways clash with new possibilities. She tends animals and crops while Ireland itself grows restless with change. Sarah shares the daily burdens of farm life, but the two women face questions larger than their daily routines. The countryside they know by heart no longer feels certain. Neighbors leave for opportunities elsewhere. Traditions that once seemed permanent now appear fragile. Annie must decide what parts of her world are worth preserving and what must be released. Barry places these two women at the center of a moment when Ireland stood between its agricultural past and an uncertain future. The story finds its heart in Annie's struggle to hold onto meaning while everything familiar shifts around her.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, found-family
Setting: County Wicklow, Ireland
Period: 1950s
336 pages · Hardcover · Chivers