The Living

by Lean Cullinan

Cate Houlihan, recent Trinity graduate, is adrift in a life that doesn't feel her own. Struggling with a new job at an eccentric Dublin publishing house and stifled by overbearing parents, her one sanctuary is singing in the prestigious Carmina Urbana choir. When romance blossoms with the choir's newest member - the older, opaque and British Mathew Taylor - it seems as if things might be starting to go Cate's way.

But when her job brings her into contact with the recent Republican past, and she fears she is being followed, Cate's entire world becomes confused. Tensions escalate and she finds herself drawn inexorably into a situation she barely comprehends. As the lines between Cate's work, family and relationship begin to blur, she realises that danger is much closer to home than she could have ever imagined.

• ISBN10: 1782391673
• ISBN13: 9781782391678
• Publish Date: 5 June 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 11 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Atlantic Books
• Edition: Main
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Probably more 3.5 stars than 3 but not quite a 4 star read.

The story is fairly predictable, not badly done and the pacing is a little off for me it occasionally felt a little rushed and then afterwards felt a little too slow. I didn't feel I really got to know the characters in any concrete way but on the other hand I flew through the read, so it did keep my attention as I was reading through.

Cate Houlihan has recently graduated from Trinity and has drifted into a job in publishing. Not what she planned for her life, but she really doesn't have an anchor or plan and this was an opportunity that offered her a chance to strike out for a life of her own. Home life is comforting but a shackle, something that she could slip into but she wants to try for something else in her life. She's in a choir, she has a job, she has a home, because of her uncle. When Matthew Taylor comes into her life she finds herself interested, having to get over the fact that he's English and her family have republican ties makes the relationship a bit fraught. When he shows interest in a book being edited by her live, love and all sorts of messes become entwined and Cate finds out that some secrets will come out no matter how much the holders try to bury them.

Interesting, quite readable and I found it satisfying.

In the interests of full disclosure, I know the author, this didn't colour my review. The petty review by John Boyne in the Irish Times pushed this one up my shelf and didn't reflect my experience of the book.