First published 1994
A veteran comes home to rural Ireland after years of military service abroad. He carries memories that refuse to stay buried and wounds that go deeper than flesh. The small town where he grew up has changed in his absence, but the people remember who he used to be before the war transformed him. His family struggles to recognize the man who left as a boy. Old friends keep their distance. The local pub falls silent when he enters. He tries to rebuild his life among neighbors who see him as both hero and stranger. The songs his father taught him as a child echo in his mind, competing with the sounds of battle that still wake him at night. He must choose between the safety of isolation and the risk of letting others see what the war has made of him. McGinley explores how conflict follows soldiers home and shapes the communities that receive them.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Ireland, Rural Ireland
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
198 pages · Hardcover · Sinclair-Stevenson
Content warnings: war