But this is not that kind of book at all. Nugent engages fiercely with Sally's mental illness. In fact, understanding it, and the trauma it grew out of, is at the centre of this story. Put me out with the trash” he said regularly. I’ll be dead so I won’t know any different. You’ll be crying your eyes out-(and he would laugh, and his daughter Sally would laugh too, because both knew that Sally NEVER cried)

And maybe Sally isn’t all that strange after all. Maybe her awkwardness and weirdness stems from her horrific childhood. Maybe that can explain her complex behaviours. When he dies, Sally, dry-eyed, takes his body out to the barn and puts him in the incinerator, as they do with all the garbage. She doesn’t understand what she did wrong. She was only following her father’s directions. Interestingly, it has more in common with another book by a female author of Irish heritage: Emma Donoghue and her novel Room. They say it takes just three alcoholics to keep a small bar running in a country town and while myself and the cousin, Thomas, were doing what we could, we were a man shy, and these were difficult days for Mr Kelliher, licensee of the North Star, Pearse Street .As always with Liz Nugent, there are many possible triggers including but not limited to Captivity, Pedophelia, Rape, Mental and Physical Abuse. No animals are harmed. Liz Nugent: "People have accused me of being brave, but what is namebrave about surviving?" ". www.irishtimes.com . Retrieved 16 May 2020. The ending disappointed me and left me dissatisfied in so many ways and it’s so frustrating that, despite the general reading experience being a good one, I came away from it feeling let down.

We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers and sisters.’ – Martin Luther King, Jr” So begins the book, where Sally Diamond takes these instructions literally and indeed tries to incinerate her oul da after he dies. She doesn't see what the fuss is about, as she was just following his wishes. This results in a lot of headlines, and a light is shone on Sally's past, resulting in a media frenzy. Childhood Liz Nugent presents a novel so seeped in the evils of humans' ways, and yet, so softened by the core of goodness that resides in the best of us. Nugent took her time with these characters and crafted them in beaming light and then carved many of them sifting through the darkest portals of souls with ill intent. Prepare yourself for some hardcore realities here. Sally is strange. And quirky. She has a tendency to interpret things quite literally which draws unwanted attention to her now, at the age of 43. People remember Strange Sally Diamond. Her autism; her odd behaviours. Some even remember the horrors she endured before she turned 7. She doesn't. But now those memories are creeping to the surface.Despite this, however, I actually think Sally is only the second most interesting character in this book. The other is less likable, sometimes intensely unlikable, but far more complex. Nugent has explored two different forms of trauma and abuse here; Sally's was the more straightforward of the two. Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say. After her return to Ireland she enrolled in an acting course at the Gaiety School of Acting, but soon switched to stage management. She toured the world with Riverdance as a stage manager and later worked in an administrative role in RTÉ on its flagship soap Fair City. [2] I'm lost in admiration for Liz and her writing . . . vivid, pacy, taut but so very moving' Marian Keyes

The story is told from these two points of view, in two timelines that eventually converge for a surprising conclusion.The first part of this sentence points to an average man on an average day. The second part indicates something huge is about to happen. Thomas is no average character. Who chooses a library to make a sacrifice? Reading it today, one might suspect Thomas to be a suicide bomber, but in 1998, when I first read it, that didn’t enter my mind. Even if it had, I would have been wrong. What sacrifice is about to be made? Why the library? What’s going on between Thomas and his twin brother?

Chapters narrated by Peter, fill us in on what Sally and her mother endured (heartbreaking) but I was most captivated by Sally in the present day, as you cannot help but root for her to succeed. (heartwarming). Probably the most startling of all, this opening belies the title, because wherever this is set, it’s far from paradise. Someone is shooting girls, and is prioritising their executions by their colour. How many girls will follow? Who is doing the shooting, and why? Is this the norm for the society the reader is about to inhabit or is this the a terrible one-off? In six words, Toni Morrison has grabbed us by the throat. MyHome.ie (Opens in new window) • Top 1000 • The Gloss (Opens in new window) • Recruit Ireland (Opens in new window) • Irish Times Training (Opens in new window) Liz Nugent attended Holy Child Killiney, in County Dublin. At the age of six she suffered a brain injury which left her with dystonia. After leaving school she moved to London for a time. [1]Tense and suspenseful and often creepy, Liz Nugent has delivered a haunting and poignant tale, one that won’t be easy to forget any time soon."