Mount Merrion

This is a gripping family story spanning half a century, in the mould of Jonathan Franzen and John Lanchester. Declan and Sinead Boyle are pillars of society - born into prosperous families, educated at Dublin's finest schools, dwellers in a fine house in a leafy suburb. So why are they in so much t [...]
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This is a gripping family story spanning half a century, in the mould of Jonathan Franzen and John Lanchester. Declan and Sinead Boyle are pillars of society - born into prosperous families, educated at Dublin's finest schools, dwellers in a fine house in a leafy suburb. So why are they in so much trouble? Declan wants to serve his country - but he also wants to serve his own ambition. Sinead wonders if she is allowed, in the Ireland of the sixties and seventies, to have ambitions at all. Their son, Owen, seems intent on squandering the advantages of a prosperous upbringing and an expensive education. Their daughter Issie, gifted and attractive, has all the options in the world - and keeps choosing the wrong one. Mount Merrion, the dazzling debut novel by Justin Quinn, tells the story of the Boyles from Declan and Sinead's first meeting, in the late fifties, through decades of success, failure and tragedy. Set against the brilliantly realized backdrop of a changing Ireland, it is a page-turning drama, a biting satire and a lovingly detailed portrait of a marriage and a family. "Mesmerising...The story is a page-turner, and Quinn's prose consistently light and controlled".(Irish Independent). "A book that people will find hard to put down...a gripping story". (Sunday Business Post). "Justin Quinn's debut novel is poignant - but it is also fiercely and poetically written, a beautifully observed trajectory of the rise and fall of a society and its assumptions, through the medium of a family story...This is one of the best books of the year". (Evening Herald). "Exquisite". (Irish Examiner). "An impressively accomplished trip through forty-odd years of Ireland's recent history...quite brilliant". (RTE Guide). "An epic yet intimate account of one family caught in the maelstrom of recent history". (Metro Herald). "Mount Merrion is epic and intimate, deliciously observed and wholly enjoyable. Justin Quinn is a shining talent." (Claire Kilroy).