The Truth About Love - by Josephine Hart (Paperback)

About the Book

"The accidental death of a teenage boy has a profound effect on a small Irish town ... As Sissy, the boy's mother, struggles to overcome her senseless loss, her daughter Olivia works to keep her brother's memory alive in a swiftly changing country. And Thomas--known as 'The German' to his neighbors--is drawn into the family's grief, forcing him to confront the past that has brought him to Ireland and a new crossroads"--Publisher marketing.

Book Synopsis

The accidental death of a teenage boy has a profound effect on a small Irish town in this compelling new novel from the bestselling author of Damage. As Sissy, the boy's mother, struggles to overcome her senseless loss, her daughter, Olivia, works to keep her brother's memory alive in a swiftly changing country. And Thomas--known as "The German" to his neighbors--is drawn into the family's grief, forcing him to confront the past that has brought him to Ireland and a new crossroads.

A brilliant meditation on love, loss, and the beauty of living even when times are tough, The Truth About Love shows us how men and women are shaped by tragedy, by their inherent characters, and by what they are able to learn from one another.

Review Quotes

"[A] compelling look at family and memory, despair and redemption. . . . Passionate and heart-felt." --The Wall Street Journal

"A quiet masterpiece. . . . It is hard not to go hurtling through this book, with its controlled yet vast embrace of all that is terrifying about living." --New York Post

"Sophisticated. . . . Hart shows how love of family and love of country can feed from each other." --The New York Times Book Review

"An ambitious and poetic weaving of a long-ago family tragedy into the tragic history, and histories, of our time. Josephine Hart has come home in triumph." --John Banville

"In this compelling and remarkable book, Hart has written a moving lament for exile. . . . A tour de force. . . . There are echoes of Beckett and Joyce in Hart's writing." --The Times Literary Supplement (London)

"Deeply moving. . . . [The Truth About Love] packs a punch far beyond its size. . . . An uncompromising tale that explores grief, redemption, and misery." --Irish Independent

"A bleak tale, beautifully told, about the burden we must all, as human beings, survive." --The Times (London)

"Hart's dialogue is extraordinary, blending poetry and naturalism like the great Irish playwrights." --The Independent (London)

"A brave novel. . . . Hart's [characters] live beyond the confines of even her fiery and elegant prose." --The Guardian (London)

"[The Truth About Love] embraces themes of heart, soul, pride and shame of country, guilt and memory, emphasizing that the past will not be ignored. . . . Its universal themes will resonate with readers, underscoring that losses are unavoidable for those who love, and enduring is not easy, but that is part of living." --Las Vegas Review-Journal

"A genuine, deeply felt story of love and loss." --Daily Mail

About the Author

Josephine Hart is the best-selling author of Damage, Sin, Oblivion, The Stillest Day, and The Reconstructionist. Her work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in London with her husband, Maurice Saatchi, and their two sons.