Moran is an old Republican whose life was forever transformed by his days of glory as a guerrilla leader in the War of Independence. Now, in old age, living out in the country, Moran is still fighting - with his family, his friends, even himself - in a poignant struggle to come to terms with the past.

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McGahern's 'masterpiece: the sort of book which you can give anyone of any age and know that they will be changed by it' (Colm Tóibín) by 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel).

'A book that can be read in two hours, but will linger in the mind for decades.' Sunday Telegraph

Once an officer in the Irish War for Independence, Moran is now a widower, eking out a living on a small farm where he raises his two sons and three daughters. Adrift from the structure and security of the military, he keeps control by binding his family close to him. But as his children grow older and seek independence, and as the passing years bring with them bewildering change, Moran struggles to find a balance between love and tyranny.

'McGahern brings us that tonic gift of the best fiction, the sense of truth - the sense of transparency that permits us to see imaginary lives more clearly than we see our own.' John Updike

'An overwhelming experience.' The Times

'Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.' David Mitchell

'I have admired, even loved, John McGahern's work since his first novel.' Melvyn Bragg