WEST Limerick audiences will have an opportunity to welcome back debut novelist June O’Sullivan.
The new author returns to her home town of Newcastle West for the launch of her debut novel, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife.
June will give a reading and interview at Newcastle West Library on Thursday March 6, where she will also sign copies of the book, published by Poolbeg.
The event is being hosted by the library in conjunction with the Éigse Michael Hartnett committee.
June is a past pupil of Scoil Mhuire agus Éde, a graduate of Galway University, and more recently was awarded an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Limerick.
She has previously had work published in various journals, but The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife is her first novel. It has been described as “powerful” by author Joseph O’Connor and as “stunning” by award-winning Limerick novelist Donal Ryan.
The book is set in the Ireland of 1867 where life is hard. Its main character, Eliza Carthy, moves with her lighthouse keeper husband James and sons Peter and Joseph to the remote island of Skellig Michael.
Eliza is proud of her husband and his promotion to principal keeper and is eager to support him in his work and fulfil her duty as a good wife and mother. But life in this extreme location is challenging.
The island is 54 acres of jagged rock, jutting out of the Atlantic, with no way of communicating from or leaving the island. With no access to a boat, keepers must rely on a tender boat to deliver news and supplies and act as their conduit to life on the mainland.
When assistant keeper Edmund and his wife Ruth arrive, Eliza hopes for respite. But her new neighbours are not what she’d expected. They blow hot and cold, seemingly wanting Eliza and her family to leave Skellig Michael, leaving her questioning her sanity.
Praising the novel, Donal Ryan said: “On such a tiny stage, a rock in the ocean, June presents an epic story of love, loss, betrayal, heartbreak, and survival. This is a stunning debut.”
June now lives with her husband and three children on Valentia Island, but readers can meet her at Newcastle West Library on March 6, where the free book signing and reading kicks off from 6.30pm.
