We're so excited to welcome Charleen Hurtubise and Louise Nealon to Rare Birds Book Shop this April to talk about their new novels - Saoirse & Everything That Is Beautiful.

Exploring the fine line between dishonesty and reinvention, Saoirse is an evocative and compelling story of a woman perpetually in flight. A book for fans of Trespasses by Louise Kennedy and Barbara's Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead.

Told through the perspectives of three very different women, Everything That Is Beautiful unfolds the story of one complicated family in startlingly honest prose. By turns funny and deeply moving, and with unmatched emotional intelligence, this is an unforgettable story of love and family, heartbreak and hope - and who we might become after we pick up the pieces.

We can't wait to welcome them both into the store for a fascinating evening discussing some of the subjects both writers are most passionate about. 

Tickets are £5 and can be redeemed against any purchase on the evening of the event. 

Timings

• Doors open: 6:30pm
• Talk begins: 7:00pm 

About the books

Saoirse

Can a great love survive a great deception?

In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an outwardly idyllic life.
Her tender husband Daithí and two beloved daughters are regular subjects for her work,
and in them she has found the safe home that she has always longed for. She tends not
to talk about her past, and those that love her have learned to accept that the full story is too painful for her to disclose.

When her Dublin exhibition unexpectedly wins a prestigious award that invites a swarm of
publicity, Saoirse is left panic stricken. The unanticipated recognition threatens to expose
a decade's worth of buried memories and past crimes. Because what her family and
friends don't know is that Saoirse has been on the run since she was seventeen, she has stolen an identity to survive, and whilst Ireland might now be her home, it wasn't her first - and now her past life is poised to reclaim her.

Everything That Is Beautiful

For Niamh Ryan, the Foleys are family. Her childhood flew by on their farm, playing with her best friend Peter and his sister Kate - all the while being doted on by their mother Helen and coached by their father Liam, a legendary former hurling player.

Now, following a distressing series of events, the family ties are strained. Niamh receives drunken phone calls and messages from Peter who can't understand what derailed their burgeoning relationship three years ago. Meanwhile, Helen Foley is trying her best to escape her life by checking into guesthouses under the names of women she went to school with. In her life in Belfast, Kate is attempting to hold down a job and a relationship while carrying the weight of the family's secrets, and feeling like she is the one to blame.
As a family wedding looms, and the women find themselves face to face, the knotty love that still binds Niamh, Helen and Kate might just bring them back together again.

About the authors

Louise Nealon is a writer from County Kildare, Ireland. Her debut novel, Snowflake, was the winner of Newcomer of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards and was chosen for the One Dublin One Book campaign in 2024. She lives in Belfast.

If you have any questions regarding the event or to request additional accessibility accommodations please contact hello@rarebirdsbooks.com