*One Dublin One Book choice for 2022*
*Shortlisted for an Irish Book Award 2021*
When Nora Barnacle, a twenty-year-old from Galway working as a maid at Finn’s Hotel, meets young James Joyce on a summer’s day in Dublin, she is instantly attracted to him, natural and daring in his company. But she cannot yet imagine the extraordinary life they will share together. All Nora knows is she likes her Jim enough to leave behind family and home, in search of a bigger, more exciting life.
As their family grows, they ricochet from European city to city, making fast friends amongst the greatest artists and writers of their age as well as their wives, and are brought high and low by Jim’s ferocious ambition. But time and time again, Nora is torn between their intense and unwavering desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living hand-to-mouth, often made worse by Jim’s compulsion for company and attention. So, while Jim writes and drinks his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, sometimes at the expense of her own happiness, and especially at that of their children, Giorgio and Lucia. Eventually, together, they achieve some longed-for security and stability, but it is hard-won and imperfect to the end.
In sensuous, resonant prose, Nuala O’Connor has conjured the definitive portrait of this strong, passionate and loyal Irishwoman. Nora is a tour de force, an earthy and authentic love letter to Irish literature’s greatest muse.
Publisher: New Island Books
ISBN: 9781848408500
Number of pages: 448
Dimensions: 215 x 135 x 40 mm
Weight: 478 g
Language: English
O'Connor succeeds in rendering Nora and Jim as three-dimensional humans with the same frailties and foibles as the rest of us. - John Walshe, Sunday Business Post
'This fictional Nora is entirely convincing in her raw sensuality, her stubborn determination, her powerful sense of grievance and her inability to stop loving a deeply erratic, wildly manipulative yet enormously talented man.’ - The New York Times
‘Nora brings Barnacle’s unflinching loyalty and passion to life.’ - Sunday Independent
'…historical fiction brought lushly to life, laced with glorious prose…' - Martina Devlin, Irish Independent
Everything in the novel has been carefully measured and painstakingly researched to present what I think is as accurate a portrayal of Nora Barnacle as is possible. If you are familiar with the life of the Joyces, this novel is immensely rewarding in that you know you can trust O'Connor's accuracy and, therefore, her construct. If you know little, you will learn a lot. Either way, I highly recommend it. - Good Reads Reviewer
This is truly an exceptional piece of writing from Nuala O'Connor. Nora Barnacle and James Joyce - a partnership, a contradiction, an adventure, a lifelong love. - Good Reads Reviewer
In language brimming with evocative imagery and energy, O’Connor resurrects a life ‑ and a love ‑ of magnificent intensity. - Afric McGlinchey, Dublin Review of Books
From its opening pages, O'Connor offers a stream of consciousness narrative, reminiscent of Joyce's own voice. - Irina L. Strout, Irish Literary Supplement, Boston College, Massachusetts.
Yesteryear
The Long Shoe
The Things We Never Say
By Your Side
The Impossible Fortune
I Who Have Never Known Men
We All Live Here
The Wedding People
The Housemaid
Taiwan Travelogue
The Divorce
Heated Rivalry
Heart the Lover
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