Nothing But Blue Sky

Kathleen MacMahon

From Shelf: The 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist

Is there such a thing as a perfect marriage?David thought so. But when his wife Mary Rose dies suddenly he has to think again. In reliving their twenty years together David sees that the ground beneath them had shifted and he simply hadn't noticed. Or had chosen not to.Figuring out who Mary Rose really was and the secrets that she kept - some of these hidden in plain sight - makes David wonder if he really knew her. Did he even know himself?Nothing But Blue Sky is a precise and tender story of love in marriage - a gripping examination of what binds couples together and of what keeps them apart.______________'Touching and enthralling' Sunday Times'What a beautiful novel ... Elegant, understated, subtly powerful, and rings so perfectly true' Donal Ryan'Heart-rending ... MacMahon's words ring with the honesty of truth, offering genuine insight into the human condition' Business Post'Beautiful and moving' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground'Skilfully written with a wonderful lightness of touch' Irish Times'Gentle and triumphant, MacMahon offers us a novel seeped in beautiful prose and poignant tenderness' Anne Griffin'A beautifully written and powerful tale' Woman & Home'A tender dissection of a marriage' Independent'A piece of perfection ... the best book I've read all year' Irish Examiner'Sure and subtle, MacMahon holds the reader in her spell. She is a born storyteller' Mike McCormack