Deeply and resolutely imagined, Ghost Light casts its heroine as a charming and robust, playful and wayward young girl, committed to the well-being of the rather difficult and gloomy JM Synge. On top of the biographical information concerning these two, Synge and his Molly, Joseph O'Connor has imposed a fictional overlay, and makes a vivid performance of it. “ Ghost Light is a tender and compassionate love story, and a fine stepping stone to the majesty of Synge.” - Times Literary Supplement “A spellbinding read.” - Aisling Foster, The Times (London) “It has an astonishing command of voice and period detail, and offers an intimacy with the lives of others that is rare in fiction.” - Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn It's that good.” - Roddy Doyle, author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha “When I think of Ghost Light, the words climb over each other to be first in the queue: brilliant, beautiful, exhilarating, heartbreaking, masterly. “A brilliant novel.” - Joseph O'Neil, author of Netherland Joseph O'Connor has the magic touch, and I can't imagine many better-or braver-novels coming out this year.” - Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin “A great ambitious novel about love and loss. “ Joycean.Wickedly comic.Readers will be delighted.” - The Sunday Telegraph (London) “O'Connor's novel itself is an outstanding example of what the written word can achieve.” - Minneapolis Star Tribune She loves, hates, longs for vengeance, and despairs of redemption in luminous prose.” - The Boston Globe “ story comes alive in brilliant bursts of poetic language. “ Ghost Light is O'Connor's vivid and sometimes visionary reimagining of the love affair between Molly Allgood and the Irish dramatist John Millington Synge….O'Connor rides the wave of Irish eloquence….A jagged lyricism redolent of Seamus Heaney.” - The New York Times Book Review “A rare and wonderful book.” - Michael Cunningham

Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor