Description
Colum McCann turns to the Troubles in Northern Ireland and reveals the reverberations of political tragedy in the intimate relationships between children and parents. In the title story, a teenage girl must choose between allegiance to her Catholic father and gratitude to the British soldiers who have saved the family's horse. The young hero of "Hunger Strike," a novella, tries to replicate the experience of his uncle, an IRA prisoner on hunger strike. And in "Wood," a small boy does his part for the Protestant marches, concealing his involvement from his sick father.