• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2022 October #1
  In mid–1970s Belfast, 24-year-old Cushla's name (from the Irish endearment, the pulse of my heart) instantly marks her as part of the Catholic minority. A teacher at the local parochial school and part-time barmaid in her family's pub, she occupies a precarious middle ground. Some of the pub's Protestant regulars won't acknowledge her family on the street, and her seven-year-old students are on intimate terms with the violence they report on each morning during current events. When Michael, an older, married Protestant lawyer who frequents the pub, asks Cushla to teach him and his friends the Irish language, the two quickly begin an affair. When the father of one of her students is brutally assaulted, Cushla helps the boy's family. Cushla tries to keep the various strands of her life separate, but eventually they become tangled, culminating in a violent act with lasting repercussions. Kennedy (The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac, 2021) draws on her personal experiences growing up Catholic in Northern Ireland in this debut novel that will appeal to fans of Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain (2020). Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.
• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2022 October #1
  In mid–1970s Belfast, 24-year-old Cushla's name (from the Irish endearment, the pulse of my heart) instantly marks her as part of the Catholic minority. A teacher at the local parochial school and part-time barmaid in her family's pub, she occupies a precarious middle ground. Some of the pub's Protestant regulars won't acknowledge her family on the street, and her seven-year-old students are on intimate terms with the violence they report on each morning during current events. When Michael, an older, married Protestant lawyer who frequents the pub, asks Cushla to teach him and his friends the Irish language, the two quickly begin an affair. When the father of one of her students is brutally assaulted, Cushla helps the boy's family. Cushla tries to keep the various strands of her life separate, but eventually they become tangled, culminating in a violent act with lasting repercussions. Kennedy (The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac, 2021) draws on her personal experiences growing up Catholic in Northern Ireland in this debut novel that will appeal to fans of Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain (2020). Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.

Louise Kennedy grew up near Belfast. She has written for The Guardian, The Irish Times, and BBC Radio 4, and she is also the author of a collection of short stories, The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac. Before becoming a writer, she worked as a chef for almost thirty years. She lives in Sligo, Ireland.