Synopses & Reviews
It opens in a small Irish town in the 1960s with the accidental death of a teenage boy who commits one final, heartrending act of love.
Then: three brilliantly realized voicesthe boys mother, his older sister, a German expat neighborspeak the story into existence. Their descriptions of the aftermath of the boys death mix with meditations and conversations about other loves tested, twisted, or lostin the past and forward, through the next forty yearsas they struggle to make sense of tragedy: the boys, their own, their countries.
In Sissy, the mother, we see how the desperate love of her husband and the delicate bravery of her daughter lure her away from her profound grief. In Thomas“the German” to his neighborswe see a man who knows all too well that “after a tragedy, many survivors are lost.” In Olivia, the boys sister, we see someone who remains intent on embracing the “weapon of memory.”
These voices speak with piercing emotion and intellect and, in Josephine Harts deft hands, they describe whole lives. Moment by moment we come to understand how these men and women are shaped in essential ways by the boys death, by their inherent characters, and by what they learn from one another about loss and loveand what it takes to bear them both.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
The accidental death of a teenage boy has a profound effect on a small Irish town in this compelling new novel from the bestselling author of
Damage. As Sissy, the boy’s mother, struggles to overcome her senseless loss, her daughter, Olivia, works to keep her brother’s memory alive in a swiftly changing country. And Thomas—known as “The German” to his neighbors—is drawn into the family’s grief, forcing him to confront the past that has brought him to Ireland and a new crossroads.
A brilliant meditation on love, loss, and the beauty of living even when times are tough, The Truth About Love shows us how men and women are shaped by tragedy, by their inherent characters, and by what they are able to learn from one another.
About the Author
Josephine Hart is the best-selling author of Damage, Sin, Oblivion, The Stillest Day, and The Reconstructionist. Her work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in London with her husband, Maurice Saatchi, and their two sons.
Reading Group Guide
The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading group's discussion of The Truth About Love, Josephine Hart's masterful novel about love, loss, and memory.