by Maeve Binchy
First published 2008
Jo arrives in Dublin from the countryside, eager to embrace city life and independence. The shy young woman finds work and throws herself into the urban experience, but Dublin holds unexpected challenges that test her determination to be modern and worldly. Meanwhile, Gerry Moore confronts his greatest battle. He knows alcohol controls his life and must be defeated. His family and friends watch with anxiety as he struggles against his addiction, understanding that drink makes a formidable opponent. Binchy weaves these Dublin stories with her characteristic warmth and humor, finding both lightness and melancholy in the lives of ordinary people navigating love, ambition, and personal demons in Ireland's capital city.
Genres: family-life, irish-literature, addiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
128 pages · Paperback · Oxford University Press
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse