Lucy Popescu

Set in rural Ireland, Gráinne Murphy’s novel is narrated from the perspective of several characters over the course of twenty-four hours. After a bus falls into a sinkhole, a tense drama ensues involving the conflicting emotions and entwined lives of the rescued, those who remain trapped, the media, and the rescue team. The accident serves as the catalyst for Murphy to explore diverse subjects from grief, trauma, faith and identity to the fine line between love and obsession.
Based on a true story, The Stray Cats of Homs by journalist Eva Nour (a pseudonym), explores the brutality of the Syrian conflict. Nour was inspired to write the novel after meeting and falling in love with the real ‘Sami’, the Syrian protagonist who lives through the Homs nightmare. He endures national service, witnesses the death of friends, survives bombing and starvation, before escaping to Lebanon and finding asylum in France. Despite witnessing unspeakable horror, Sami manages to retain his humanity and dign…