First published 1974
Julia O'Faolain presents seven interconnected tales that probe the secrets people keep buried. In the title story, a mysterious figure lurks in the basement spaces of ordinary lives, forcing residents to confront what they've tried to ignore. The collection moves from intimate domestic dramas to broader questions of faith and identity. Characters grapple with physical desire in "This Is My Body" while others face the pull of distant homelands in "It's a Long Way to Tipperary." Love becomes both salvation and trap in "I Want Us to Be in Love," as O'Faolain strips away the comfortable lies her characters tell themselves. Each story reveals how the past refuses to stay buried, how moral certainties crumble under pressure, and how ordinary people discover they're capable of extraordinary choices. The emotional core lies in the tension between what we want to believe about ourselves and what we actually do when tested.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, mystery, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
160 pages · Hardcover · Faber & Faber