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1994, the summer leading up to the ceasefire between Britain and the IRA. In the Northern Irish border town of Cross, after decades of violent activity protesting British rule, a community plays out its end game.
Francie, a hardened yet troubled IRA man, has authorized the murder of a policeman by two teenaged henchmen. The Widow Donnelly protests in the town square because her son has gone missing. Young Cathy Murphy, a Protestant, is trying to find her place among a people who ignore her. And pathological Handy Byrnes, whose marksmanship makes him a valuable weapon, is out of control.
Meanwhile, paranoia is growing because operations are beginning to go wrong. The townsfolk suspect a tout, but no one is willing to accept the evidence before their eyes.
Cross is a complex tale of betrayal and brutality at the height of the Troubles, a powerful, moving, and empathetic lament for a community that has lost its way in its battle for the nation.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 12, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781685891787
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781685891787
- File size: 1827 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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October 1, 2024
Northern Ireland in 1994 is on the verge of peace after decades of fighting. However, in IRA-run small towns such as the fictional Cross, the mood is one of exhaustion and paranoia. Francie Begley fears that the code of the republicans has been overtaken by a sadistic acceptance of violence as a way of life and not a means to an end. Yet the rising politician nicknamed M.O.C.--a stand-in for the real Gerry Adams--denies the IRA's existence altogether. Conflict is stirred when a protesting mother of a missing man brings international attention to the ongoing bloodshed. Then there's young Cathy Murphy, whose family tragedy includes a missing father and brain-injured brother now working for those responsible. Francie's sympathies for Cathy cause more than a few to see him as a tout. But who is the real traitor? This place and its residents will fascinate readers, as will Duffy's unique vernacular style and omniscient first-person-plural narration, which perfectly captures this damaged community. Duffy doesn't explain the historical context, so additional reading may be in order, perhaps Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing (2019).COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Starred review from October 14, 2024
Duffy (The Night Interns) impresses with a stunning story of political intrigue in 1994 Northern Ireland. Francie, an elder IRA middleman, is respected for his grasp of the goings-on around his town, making him the ideal handler for a chaotic group of teenage boys tasked with murder. Authorized to kill a British policeman, they complete the mission and show up at the local pub, gloating. Francie quiets them, then gets called to visit his boss, Nailer, a farmer on the edge of town. Nailer wants to discuss the Widow Donnelly, who’s become a nuisance after staging a hunger strike following the disappearance of her son, a suspected informant. What follows is a slow unraveling of the motivations and aims of IRA soldiers, their families, local politicians, and other supporters of the Republican cause, with surprising revelations and dire consequences for those involved. Duffy’s expert plotting is topped only by his atmospheric prose, which is often freighted with a sense of foreboding (“a wild near gale of a night but no rain surprisingly and the air itself was as warm as fumes”). This dazzles. Agent: Faith O’Grady, Lisa Richards Agency.
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