When Jo Devereux returns to Ireland after an absence of 20 years, the last person she expects to meet at her mother's funeral is Rory O'Donovan. The unexplained conflict between his family and hers was the one constant of Jo's childhood and caused their painful breakup.
Now she's back in Mucknamore, the Irish village where they both grew up, he's urging her to stay on and she's tempted. Because of him? Because her mother no longer lives? Because her life in San Francisco is such a mess? Or because, being a writer, she always swore she'd write a book about it all.
So Jo settles into a shed near the beach and embarks on a literary quest, uncovering uncomfortable truths about her mother and grandmother, about women's role in the conflict that became known as “The War of The Brothers”, and about a killing with consequences that have ricocheted through the generations — leading ultimately to the revolt that made her leave home.
But now she's back and Rory, mired in an unhappy marriage, is urging her to rebel again but reading her family history has made Jo cautious. “Rebellion has an energy that sweeps people up,” she tells him, “but what happens after the rising?” That's the question she must answer if her exhumation of the past is to redeem her future.
AFTER THE RISING was Orna Ross's debut novel, published (together with its sequel BEFORE THE FALL) as Lovers' Hollow by Penguin in 2006. Widely acclaimed and an instant bestseller, it has now been reissued by the author.
Enjoy this compelling story of love, loss and redemption, written with a lyrical Irish lilt.
