Already a best-seller in Ireland, and a critical success on both sides of the Pond, Anne Griffin‘s debut novel, WHEN ALL IS SAID is now available in the Netherlands! Published in Dutch by Harper Collins as ALS ALLES IS GEZEGD, here’s the synopsis…
Als je vijf mensen zou moeten opnoemen die het belangrijkst zijn geweest in je leven, wie zou je dan kiezen? Als je op ieder van hen een toost zou uitbrengen, wat zou je dan zeggen? En wat zou je over jezelf te weten komen als alles is gezegd en gedaan?
Op een avond in juni bestelt de vierentachtigjarige Maurice Hannigan vijf drankjes aan de bar van een hotel. Met elk drankje heft hij het glas op iemand die belangrijk voor hem is geweest. Zijn jonggestorven broer, zijn complexe schoonzus, zijn dochtertje dat slechts vijftien minuten oud werd, zijn zoon in het verre Amerika en zijn geliefde vrouw. Door deze mensen, die hem inmiddels allemaal hebben verlaten, vertelt hij zijn levensverhaal, met alle spijt, ruzies, vreugde en liefde die erbij horen.
Maurice Hannigan heft nog vijf keer het glas op zijn leven.
Published in the UK by Sceptre and in North America by St. Martin’s Press, here’s the English-language synopsis…
Five toasts. Five people. One lifetime.
‘I’m here to remember — all that I have been and all that I will never be again.’
At the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town sits 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. He’s alone, as usual -though tonight is anything but. Pull up a stool and charge your glass, because Maurice is finally ready to tell his story.
Over the course of this evening, he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him. Through these stories — of unspoken joy and regret, a secret tragedy kept hidden, a fierce love that never found its voice — the life of one man will be powerfully and poignantly laid bare.
Heart-breaking and heart-warming all at once, the voice of Maurice Hannigan will stay with you long after all is said.
We’re pleased to re-state, also, that there are more editions of the novel on the way. Keep your eyes on our news- and Twitter feeds for more information. We’ll share it as soon as we have it.
Here is just a small selection of that praise that the novel has enjoyed since it was made available to readers, reviewers and fellow authors…
‘Griffin’s portrait of an Irish octogenarian provides a stage for the exploration of guilt, regret, and loss, all in the course of one memorable night.’ — Kirkus
‘Anne Griffin’s debut novel is a must read. Beautifully observed, masterful story telling – stunning!’ — Graham Norton
‘An extraordinary novel, a poetic writer, and a story that moved me to tears… There is something special here.’ — John Boyne
‘Maurice’s humor, his keen observations on class and family, and his colloquial language, as well as Griffin’s strong sense of place, create the feeling of a life connected to many others by strands of affection and hatred.’ — Publishers Weekly
‘Beautiful. Intimate. Tearful. Aching and lyrical. So simply and beautifully told.’ — Louise Penny
‘Pitch-perfect prose… Moving and beautifully written, this is a wonderfully assured debut.’ — Mail on Sunday
‘The most impressive aspects of this first novel from the pen of prize-winning short-story writer Anne Griffin are its rich, flowing prose, its convincing voice, and its imaginative and clever structure. She has complete mastery of her quite complex plot, and manages to imbue her sizeable cast of diverse characters with life and energy… Griffin is a writer of unusual confidence and authority, and a welcome arrival to the literary scene.’ — Irish Times
‘It’s all beautifully done; a tale told in the plain but poetic prose of a man who recognises the tragic truths gleaned from a life of love and loss. A gem of a book.’ 5* — Sunday Express
‘A proper tear-jerker, but one that will ultimately leave you feeling hopeful.’ — Grazia
