Hollywood writer writes Trespasses as her first novel
Louise Kennedy drew on her early years’ experiences in Belfast to pen for first novel which is being promoted by Kenny’s Bookshop and Art Galleries in Galway. ‘Trespasses’ has been released in April.
The main character, Cushla Lavery, lives with her mother in a small town near Belfast in County Down. At twenty-four, she splits her time between her day job as a teacher to a class of seven-year-olds, and regular bartending shifts in the pub owned by her family.
It is here, on a day like any other – as the daily news rolls in of another car bomb exploding, another man shot, killed, beaten or left for dead – that she meets Michael Agnew, an older (and married) barrister who draws her into his sophisticated group of friends.
When the father of a young boy in her class becomes the victim of a savage attack, Cushla is compelled to help his family.
But as her affair with Michael intensifies, political tensions in the town escalate, threatening to destroy all she is working to hold together.
Sarah Kenny of Kenny’s Bookshop said: “As tender as it is unflinching, Trespasses is a masterfully executed and intimate portrait of those caught between the warring realms of the personal and political, rooted in a turbulent and brutally imagined moment of history – where it’s not just what you do that matters, but what you are.
“The novel is set near Belfast during the Troubles and it tells the story of Catholic schoolteacher Cushla and Protestant barrister Michael, wonderfully bringing to life the reality of life during this turbulent period in Northern Ireland.
“We are thrilled to reveal the Kennys Exclusive Signed Limited Edition of Trespasses.
“We are huge fans of her writing and so we are producing a Limited Edition of the book together with the publishers.
“The Exclusive Kenny’s Limited Editionof the book is unique as it has an exclusive dustjacket, and is signed and numbered by the author with a limited number of copies available.
Trespasses, a hard copy, is currently available for pre-order on Kenny’s website:
