The River Capture

Mary Costello author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Canongate Books

Published:1st Oct '20

Should be back in stock very soon

The River Capture cover

'Exceptional' The Times
'Luminous . . . Unexpected' Guardian

Shortlisted for Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, the Dalkey Literary Awards and the Kerry Group Awards

Luke O'Brien has left Dublin to live a quiet life on the bend of the River Sullane. Alone in his big house, he longs for a return to his family's heyday and turns to books for solace. One morning a young woman arrives at his door, presenting Luke and his family with an almost impossible dilemma.

One of the most surprising and original novels of 2019 . . . Exceptional . . . This is a sensory book that draws on the body to feed the mind * * The Times * *
Elegantly written . . . Exquisite and impressionistic prose * * Observer * *
An intellectual romp through language and word philosophy, and a self-confessed homage to James Joyce . . . Costello writes insightfully * * Sunday Times * *
Luminous . . . Unexpected . . . An audacious act of literary ventriloquism and one that Costello pulls off astonishingly successfully . . . Joyce devotees will discover much to enjoy in this clever homage, while fans of contemporary Irish literature will find a subtle, slightly melancholy, engrossing read -- Melissa Harrison * * Guardian * *
The River Capture is breathtaking. It is profound in the most bruising way; elegant, and then thrillingly savage; expansive, but masterfully precise, and full of sentences that made me choke on jealous rage. Costello is in a different class altogether -- LISA McINERNEY
Astonishingly bittersweet and beautiful, The River Capture is a quiet, important, hypnotic book about absolutely everything. It is as near perfect as it is possible for a novel to be -- SARA BAUME
A hypnotic read revealing how the ebb and flow of memory, family loyalty and love can disrupt the current of a life * * Mail on Sunday * *
Powerful . . . The River Capture reminds us that everything is connected, that we are, as humans, not separate from the teeming world of nature around us . . . Lyrical * * Financial Times * *
Intense, engrossing, a novel that constantly subverts the reader's expectation - Mary Costello is a truly startling talent -- KEVIN BARRY
Costello's writing is truly beautiful and this book will hypnotise you from the first page to the last * * Stylist * *

  • Short-listed for Irish Book Awards Eason Book Club Novel of the Year 2019 (Ireland)
  • Short-listed for Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award 2020 (Ireland)
  • Short-listed for Dalkey Literary Awards: Novel of the Year 2020 (Ireland)

ISBN: 9781786898043

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 17mm

Weight: 184g

272 pages

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