Book of the Year in the Irish Times

'A wonderful storyteller' Joseph O'Connor

On the quays of Dublin, Jasmine is running, training for a fight she can't compete in. It's 1982 and boxing is illegal for girls.

For Jasmine boxing is everything: after running away from home, and narrowly escaping a risky situation in London, it is all she has to claim as her own. But with a legal fight impossible, and a ghost from her past on her trail, where can it end?

A History of Running Away is a brilliantly written novel about growing up, starting over and learning to fight for yourself.

"This beautifully written novel is urgently contemporary in its concerns but is also a quietly compelling exploration of the notions of home and belonging. Paula McGrath is a wonderful storyteller with a vivid sense of place and person" - Joseph O'Connor

"A thoroughly modern, engaging and sophisticated novel about women who reach for better lives and are forced to run away to achieve them" - Liz Nugent

"Depicts a brutal world with astonishing tenderness and builds a clever, intriguing story, creating memorable characters along the way" - Emma Henderson

"McGrath captures Dublin of the 1980s perfectly . . . Ambitious, both structurally and narratively, and elegantly written" - John Boyne, Irish Times

"Elegant . . . Compelling reading" - Daily Mail

"The writing is fluid and accessible, the dialogue and setting authentic, proving Paula McGrath both a consummate storyteller and an excellent observer of human interactions" - Sunday Independent

"McGrath writes well and delivers some fine flourishes" - Irish Sunday Times

"A keen eye for both poignancy and humanity" - Irish Independent

"Sparkling prose " - Guardian