I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful story about a man living in his family home, and wondering where to go next while appreciating the beauty and peace of the nature around him.

I really enjoyed this story which once again proved to me that Mary Costello is an absolute expert at writing wonderful things about ordinary people. Luke isn't anyone special - just a former teacher with a passion for James Joyce, and someone who is loving and there for people who need him (his sick aunt, his elderly aunt and his mother). I enjoyed just reading Luke's thoughts about different things and the beginnings of his relationship with Ruth.

One of the strongest topics in this book is definitely Luke's exploration into his own sexuality and how he realised in his late 20s that he is also attracted to men, and would identify more so as bisexual (though his thoughts around gender and sexuality are extremely fluid). His conversations with Ruth about his sexuality and how he wasn't going to apologise for it was SO important and I'm really glad to see this in a book. Particularly an Irish book where some of the readers could possibly be older Irish people, from conservative, religious backgrounds, and who may have never been privy to such conversations before and could open their eyes and bring more understanding.

The last part of this book was a bit of a disaster for me as I feel Luke's thoughts went extremely manic, and I didn't enjoy reading that at all. It went on for a bit too long and it was just tangent after tangent.

I definitely do enjoy Mary Costello's writing though and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.