Set in Northern Ireland, and focusing on the post-Peace Process landscape, David Park’s latest novel, THE TRUTH COMMISSIONERS, has been garnering some tasty reviews, to wit: “Once the four different perspectives are fully initiated the novel’s pace quickens, increasing the suspense as the danger in the plot grows too … the final chapter of THE TRUTH COMMISSIONER re-establishes the perfect nuance between personal and political landscapes that shapes Park’s honest, and at times bleak, view of [Northern Ireland] in the present day.” – Sara Keating, Sunday Business PostSo wot’s it all about, then? Quoth the Bloomsbury blurb elves:
“A terrible beauty, but a powerful one for that, this is a magnificent and important book.” – Joseph O’Connor, The Guardian
“As David Park’s thoughtful and humane new novel makes clear, truth and loyalty are not easy bedfellows.” – Helen Brown, Daily Telegraph
Henry Stanfield, the newly arrived Truth Commissioner, is troubled by his estrangement from his daughter, and struggling with the consequences of his infidelities. Francis Gilroy, veteran Republican and recently appointed government minister, risks losing what feels tantalisingly close to his grasp. In America, Danny and his partner plan for the arrival of their first child, happily oblivious to what is about to pull him back to Belfast and rupture the life they have started together. Retired detective James Fenton, on his way to an orphanage in Romania with a van full of supplies, will soon be forced to confront what he has come to think of as his betrayal, years before, of a teenage boy. In a society trying to heal the scars of the past with the salve of truth and reconciliation, four men’s lives become linked in a way they could never have imagined. In a community where truth is often tribal and partial, the secret they share threatens to destroy what they have each built in the present. David Park pieces together these individual stories to create a powerful tale that transcends both time and place. Moving, insightful and utterly involving, THE TRUTH COMMISSIONER is an important novel from one of Ireland’s greatest writers.Hmmmm ... Anyone else get the feeling the Bloomsbury elves would rather be reviewing novels than blurbing them?
It's a good read ... and a thoughtful reflection on what could happen in Northern Ireland if one particular method of dealing with the past was adopted.
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