‘There’s a crack in everything, it’s how the light gets in’ - Leonard Cohen
On an island off the west coast of Ireland, the Moone family gather, only to be shattered by tragedy.
Murtagh Moone met Maeve Morelli twenty-seven years ago outside Trinity College in Dublin, and the
rest was history. Murtagh is a potter by trade and Maeve an actor from Williamsburg, whose days
divide starkly into darkness and light. As they raise their four children in the tight-knit community
on the island of Inis Og, her illness casts a long shadow over their happiness. Until Christmas Eve,
2005, when the darkest day comes.
As the Moones piece themselves imperfectly back together, they begin to learn surprising truths
about each other and about themselves – truths that only Maeve understood.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is a novel about motherhood and mental health, the different
ways that love finds its way into our lives, and the sweetness of new beginnings born from loss.
It’s a celebration of the complex, flawed and stubbornly optimistic human heart.
My Thoughts:
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is the first book I have read by Helen Cullen. I am absolutely stunned by her talent and this beautiful book just about broke my heart. I was transfixed and transported to the island of Inis Óg and felt like I was looking through the window as the story unfolded. Sometimes I had to tear my eyes away as the depths of emotion evoked were overwhelming.
Murtagh Moone and Maeve Morelli are pretty much chalk and cheese but they say opposites attract. Murtagh a potter and Maeve an actress from America. They meet in college and set about a life together and go on to have four children and settle in the island setting of Inis Óg. Maeve suffers with her mental health and this is handled eloquently in this book. A tragedy occurs that rocks this family to the core. An unravelling if you will and then a putting back together.
A story of family, mental health and being broken and put back together. There is a chapter in the book called Kintsugi and this is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using gold for example. The philosophy being that it is OK and that the breaks should not be hidden away.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually broke me and put me back together again. The writing accomplished and not a stray word or thought. Helen Cullen writes with great care and empathy and the island setting was a mesmerising backdrop to this story of the Moone family.
Honestly I can't rate this book highly enough, it was wonderful.
About the Author:
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is the first book I have read by Helen Cullen. I am absolutely stunned by her talent and this beautiful book just about broke my heart. I was transfixed and transported to the island of Inis Óg and felt like I was looking through the window as the story unfolded. Sometimes I had to tear my eyes away as the depths of emotion evoked were overwhelming.
Murtagh Moone and Maeve Morelli are pretty much chalk and cheese but they say opposites attract. Murtagh a potter and Maeve an actress from America. They meet in college and set about a life together and go on to have four children and settle in the island setting of Inis Óg. Maeve suffers with her mental health and this is handled eloquently in this book. A tragedy occurs that rocks this family to the core. An unravelling if you will and then a putting back together.
A story of family, mental health and being broken and put back together. There is a chapter in the book called Kintsugi and this is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using gold for example. The philosophy being that it is OK and that the breaks should not be hidden away.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually broke me and put me back together again. The writing accomplished and not a stray word or thought. Helen Cullen writes with great care and empathy and the island setting was a mesmerising backdrop to this story of the Moone family.
Honestly I can't rate this book highly enough, it was wonderful.
About the Author:
Helen Cullen is an Irish writer living in London. Helen’s debut novel The Lost
Letters of William Woolf (2018) was shortlisted for Newcomer of the Year at
the Irish Book Awards, and has been optioned for television.
Helen freelances for the Sunday Times Magazine and is a regular features
writer and book reviewer for the Irish Times.
Follow Helen on Twitter @wordsofhelen
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