Ithaca

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BORD GÁIS ENERGY IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2017

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2017 DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE

'It's a stunner.' Edna O'Brien

Summer 2009, and eleven-year-old Jason Lowry is preoccupied with thoughts of the Da he has never known. In the meantime, his vodka-swilling, swings-from-the-hip Ma is busy entertaining her latest boyfriend and indulging her fondness for joyriding.

Jason escapes to the Swamp: a mysteriously rising pool of fetid water on the outskirts of the town. There, he meets the girl, a being as lost as himself, and with even less regard for reality. Together, they conjure exotic adventures - from ancient Egypt to the search for Ithaca, home of Odysseus. But what begin as innocent flights of fancy soon become forays into hazardous territory; the girl is a dangerous (and very committed) partner in crime.

'A fierce and funny novel that tackles tough topics with great imaginative flair . . . The novel belongs to Jason and his Ma, who, through an epic journey of adversity, manage to find their way back to each other.' Irish Times