Holding Her Breath

(Paperback)

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Description

A beautiful coming of age story in the shadow of a complex love affair When Beth Crowe starts university, she is shadowed by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. Free to create a fresh identity for herself, she finds herself among people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. She embarks on a secret relationship - and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows. Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition and grief - and a young woman coming fully into her powers.

Reviews

Funny, dark and unexpected -- Kevin Power * The Last Word with Matt Cooper *
A stunning debut from this new Irish talent, as well as being an exciting page turner it's also a perfect depiction of how it feels to be lost as you embark on a new chapter of your life * Stellar *
From the first sentence to the last, this is a great piece of writing - precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read -- Roddy Doyle
Richly accomplished . . . a true pleasure to read -- Dermot Bolger * Business Post *
A moving debut with a satisfying conclusion * Irish Independent *
Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page. To read this book is to feel it blaze to life. I can't stop thinking about it -- Doireann N Ghrofa, author of A Ghost in the Throat

Author Bio

Eimear Ryan's writing has appeared in Granta, Winter Papers, The Dublin Review and The Stinging Fly. She is the 2021 Writer in Residence at University College Cork. She is a co-founder of the literary journal Banshee and its publishing imprint, Banshee Press. A native of Co. Tipperary, Eimear now lives in Cork city.