GHOST MOTH will transport you to two hot summers, 20 years apart. Northern Ireland, 1949. Katherine must choose between George Bedford - solid, reliable, devoted George - and Tom McKinley, who makes her feel alive. The reverberations of that summer - of the passions that were spilled, the lies that were told and the bargains that were made - still clamour to be heard in 1969. Northern Ireland has become a tinderbox but tragedy also lurks closer to home. As Katherine and George struggle to save their marriage and silence the ghosts of the past, their family and city stand on the brink of collapse...Surprising, mesmerising and astonishingly written, GHOST MOTH will show you the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Clever, unpredictable, beautifully written and crafted - Ghost Moth stayed with me for a long time after I'd finished reading the final, sad, wonderful page -- Roddy Doyle Deeply - sometimes erotically - charged. The writing soaks up the world, and thrills to the beauty of it...Katherine Bedford - so ordinary and so passionate - is a heroine to treasure -- Anne Enright An impressive debut by a writer who is not afraid to address the so-called ordinary lives of real human beings. We shall be hearing a great deal more from Michele Forbes -- John Banville A bountiful river of lovely images, fresh and perfect, a triumphant story both familiar and strange. A stellar debut -- Sebastian Barry Forbes, who has already won major awards for her short stories, knows how to write - her prose is unfailingly elegant - her images are often arresting... the book confirms its author as an exceptional talent -- John Boland BELFAST TELEGRAPH Ghost Moth takes place during the Troubles, but it is far from just another book about them. Lyrical and beautifully written, it uses the outbreak of the Protestant/Catholic struggles and IRA bombings in the Sixties as a backdrop, but it is more of a character study and riveting family drama - concerned with the secrets, lies and hidden torments between those one is closest to, and the heartbreak of lost love. THE BOOKSELLER A beautifully written debut. Confident and lyrica. Michele Forbes is a name to watch IRISH EXAMINER Quiet tragedy in the ordinary lives of real human beings... Michele Forbes first novel has been heaped with praise and rightly so... as the book proceeds, it darkens, vividly evoking the divisions and bitterness that erupt with the onset of the Troubles. IRISH INDEPENDENT
Author
About Michele Forbes
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Michele Forbes is an award-winning theatre, television and film actress. She studied literature at Trinity College, Dublin and has worked as a literary reviewer for the IRISH TIMES. Her short stories have received both the BRYAN MACMAHON and the MICHAEL MCLAVERTY AWARDs. She lives near Dalkey, Dublin with her husband and two children. GHOST MOTH is her first novel.
