Mining girlhood, womanhood and the delicate spot in between with elegance and urgency, Airey's striking debut follows a teenager orphaned by the 9/11 attack as she comes in contact with her estranged family in small town Ireland.
'I was at a time in my life where I got to thinking more about people's choices – how everything would be different if just the slightest decision changed...'
It is late September in 2001 and the walls of New York are papered over with photos of the missing. Cora Brady’s father is there, the poster she made taped to columns and bridges. Her mother died long ago and now, orphaned on the cusp of adulthood, Cora is adrift and alone. Soon, a letter will arrive with the offer of a new life: far out on the ragged edge of Ireland, in the town where her parents were young, an estranged aunt can provide a home and fulfil a long-forgotten promise. There the story of Cora's family is hidden, and in her presence will begin to unspool…
An essential, immersive debut from an astonishing new voice, Confessions traces the arc of three generations of women as they experience in their own time the irresistible gravity of the past: its love and tragedy, its mystery and redemption, and, in all things intended and accidental, the beauty and terrible shade of the things we do.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241675182
Number of pages: 480
Weight: 586 g
Dimensions: 223 x 145 x 44 mm
A saga: its serious pleasures are its expansiveness and range, and Airey’s rare, particular instinct... a cool, bold image of female pain and liberation - Guardian
An intricately woven epic, Confessions is both intimate and expansive, a novel that teems with raw, hungry life - Colin Walsh, author of KALA
I was mesmerized from the very first pages of Catherine Airey's startling debut, Confessions. The story of Maire and Roisin, two Irish sisters living an ocean apart, proceeds with an almost hypnotic power and grace - it has the certainty of fable and the true originality of a powerful new voice in fiction. - Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of THE LAST ROMANTICS
Propulsive and utterly captivating … Airey has shades of the American novelists Donna Tartt and Jeffrey Eugenides in her style - Irish Times
The beautifully written narrative goes on to reveal the secrets of three generations of women. It’s an epic family saga involving a host of mysteries and I galloped to the end. I loved it. - Daily Mail
The narrative zips along with the crackling intelligence of Donna Tartt, full of twists and zips, and genuine surprises... Confessions is an astonishing and remarkable novel, and truly deserving of all the accolades coming its way - Irish Independent
An ambitious debut - Sunday Times, Books to look forward to in 2025
Confessions certainly hails the arrival of a new literary talent. She has a beautiful turn of phrase, enormous compassion for her characters and is not afraid to dig into themes both big and small – of legacy and belonging, mental illness, bodily autonomy and the long, messy tail of grief in all its forms… Confessions really excels. - iPaper
Three generations’ worth of secrets unravel in this magnificent debut - iPaper, Books to read in 2025
This ambitious novel, the subject of a fierce bidding war, is sure to show up on award shortlists - RED
Worth the hype. Confessions is a bold, beautiful book, and already builds anticipation for Airey’s next move - Financial Times
An absolute triumph - Bookseller
[An] impressive debut...Airey has taken flight with a well-written, engaging first novel. - Independent, Book of the Month
CONFESSIONS is a beating heart of a novel, intricate both in its weaving and its unspooling. An irresistible read - Yael van der Wouden, author of THE SAFEKEEP
Catherine Airey’s CONFESSIONS is a wonderfully moreish feast of family drama, flowing prose, and psychologically compelling characters. I devoured this remarkable debut that charts the lives of three generations of women and their intense, interior lives. Gracefully plotted with sentences that glide along, it’s a book that rollercoasters with secrets and revelations, exploring love and desire; longing and belonging. Airey’s novel has the complex yet deeply human undertones and poetry of Anne Enright combined with the effortless flow and vim of Louise Kennedy. I absolutely adored this novel and will be reading all future books by this immensely talented author. - Rupert Dastur, author of CLOUDLESS
[A] bold and intricate debut. . . Airey crafts a sharp psychological sketch of each woman as they contend with their parallel crises, adding nuance and depth without shying away from making a strong statement for reproductive rights. Readers will be eager to see what Airey does next - Publishers Weekly
One of 2025’s most exciting literary debuts - Service 95
It’s hard to believe this is a debut…Stunning writing, strong characters… An astounding read - Prima, Book of the Month
A complex, assured novel that explores how the past inescapably shapes the present - Financial Times, What to Read in 2025
An extraordinary debut novel by Airey, who's bound to be a household name very soon - Radio Times
September 11th, 2001 and Cora suddenly finds herself orphaned as her father was working in one of the towers of the World Trade Centre. For a while she is adrift in New York, wandering a city that has been wallpapered... More
Confessions is one of those books that has everything you’d want in a family saga.
A propulsive plot? Tick. Brilliantly sketched characters? Tick. Multi-generational? Tick. A tight narrative across time? Tick....
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This is a story that tells the story of three generations of women from one family. Set in New York and Donegal, Ireland we learn the fates of sisters Maire and Róisín, Maire’s daughter Cora and Cora’s daughter Lyra.... More
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