Sure-handed and captivating.Utterly gripping.& This is a quietly brilliant novel, which makes for essential reading.[A] tender, affecting novel.& MacLavertys gorgeous prose is tactile and understated& and the poignancy of his story fills the reader with yearning.An artist with a subtle feel for the ordinary, MacLavertys wry, outstanding novel about the tests that time, age and life impose on love resonates with humanity and emotional intelligence.[MacLaverty doesnt publish novels very often, but when he does they are outstanding.An exceptionally good book, beautifully and intelligently written, well worth waiting for.& [MacLaverty] writes with an unfailing and generous sympathy.& Everything rings true.A quietly powerful elegy that chides two finely wrought characters for not being capable of defining what they value most in life.& Exquisite.A closely observed, deeply sympathetic rendering of a relationship and the fissures that threaten to wreck it.Shortlisted for the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award