Soldier Sailor

An urgent, memorable, gut-wrenching novel about motherhood, creativity and identity which is sure to get people talking.

Longlisted for The Women's Prize for Fiction 2024

Well, Sailor. Here we are once more, you and me in one another's arms. The Earth rotates beneath us and all is well, for now . . .

In her first novel for over a decade, Claire Kilroy takes us deep into the early days of motherhood. Exploring the clash of fierce love for a new life with a seismic change in identity, she vividly realises the raw, tumultuous emotions of a new mother, as her marriage strains and she struggles with questions of love, autonomy and creativity.

As she smiles at her baby, Sailor, while mentally composing her own suicide note, an old friend makes a welcome return, but can he really offer a lifeline to the woman she used to be?

About the Author

Claire Kilroy is the author of four previous novels, including Tenderwire and The Devil I Know. She was awarded the Rooney Prize in 2004 and has been shortlisted for many other prizes, including the Irish Novel of the Year and the Kerry Group Prize for fiction.