AUSTIN DUFFY's debut novel This Living and Immortal Thing was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, was Runner-Up for the McKitterick Prize and was highly commended for the BMA Medical Books Awards. He grew up in Ireland, studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin and is a practising medical oncologist. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.
Austin Duffy's uniquely dry, laconic style adds a subversive and compelling charge to this moving and intense story of the relationship between a father and daughter. A terrific novel -- William Boyd A family epic that eddies in the wider current of history, and an incrementally devastating story of grief, guilt and memory -- Gavin Corbett, author of * This is the Way * The moral propulsion behind this sad, bittersweet tale, and its sheer cleverness, had me reading into the early hours... Duffy displays enormous skill and subtlety... [he] can delineate character well... [and] he can write beautifully too... This is a quietly wonderful novel, full of resonance yet unforgiving in its gaze, and one where, the more you look into it, the more you will find -- Sunday Times This novel is rooted in sadness... What this novel shows however is that no matter how unfair the world can be, life and love continues.... The writing in this book is so exquisite it helps the reader navigate the emotion and brings us to a deep understanding of Wolf's world and its challenges. Other characters too are sympathetically drawn. This is neither an easy nor a comforting read but it is thoughtful, gentle and beautifully crafted -- RTÉ guide A beautifully wrought, deeply affecting novel -- Anne Cunningham * Connaught Telegraph * Piercing... an endearingly plaintive novel that strikes a chord it knows well how to play * Big Issue *