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Joseph O'Connor was born in Dublin. His novels include Cowboys and Indians (Whitbread Prize shortlist), Star of the Sea (Irish Post Award for Fiction, France's Prix Millepages, Prix Madeleine Zepter for European Novel of the Year), Redemption Falls, and Ghost Light (Dublin One City One Book Novel, 2011). In 2012 he won the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature. His work has been published in thirty-five languages. www.josephoconnorauthor.com
Like Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native or Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Inishowen is one of those massive, memorable novels in which the location is as important as the characters. The remote Irish peninsula has long been the setting for myth and mystery; early Celtic Christian churches mingle with the arcane - standing stones, megalithic burial grounds and ancient pagan monuments such as the Druidic Temple of the Sun, some 4000 years old. Joseph O'Connor's vibrant and gripping storytelling can only add to its cachet. In this setting O'Connor creates three lives: Ellen was abandoned as a baby and is searching for her real mother; Milton, a worn-out American plastic surgeon is seeking meaning in his life; and finally, the cynical and disenchanted Inspector Martin Aitken, looking for answers when a mysterious woman collapses in a Dublin street. The narrative gradually reveals emotions no-one knew were there and connections no-one suspected. The lives of each of the characters are transfigured by their visit, but it's the place - Inishowen itself - that you'll remember the most acutely. (Kirkus UK)
