LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD

'Exquisite' Daily Telegraph
'A haunting tale' Irish Times

Twenty years ago, Oona left the island of Inis for the very first time. A wind-blasted rock of fishing boats and turf fires, where girls stayed in their homes until they became mothers themselves, the island was a gift for some, a prison for others. Oona was barely more than a girl, but promised herself she would leave the tall tales behind and never return.

The Island Child tells two stories: of the girl who grew up watching births and betrayals, storms and secrets, and of the adult Oona, desperate to find a second chance, only to discover she can never completely escape. As the strands of Oona's life come together, in blood and marriage and motherhood, she must accept the price we pay when we love what is never truly ours . . .

Rich, haunting and rooted in Irish folklore, The Island Child is a spellbinding debut novel about identity and motherhood, freedom and fate, and the healing power of stories.

"An exquisite debut from an exciting new voice in Irish fiction" - * Daily Telegraph *

"A haunting tale about the power and danger in a mother's love" - * Irish Times *

"An intriguing debut about motherhood, the trauma we inherit and the inescapability of fate . . . The joy of this book is in Aitken's prose, which is exquisite . . . Aitken is an exciting new voice in Irish literature" - * Irish Independent *

"[A] highly impressive debut" - * Independent *

"A confident tale of generational conflict and continuity" - * i *

"Aitken brings a gut-pummelling mix of folklore, feminism and psychological trauma to her wild debut tale of mothers impelled to take out on their daughters the sins committed against them" - * Daily Mail *