Justin Ellis

A book for the times as so many millions are displaced through war and a warming planet while misinformation and disinformation run rampant, fanning the flames of nationalism and populist politics through fictions that divide nations and undermine the rule of law in western liberal democracies. For me one of the cautionary tales of the book is reliance on norms that have lost value within a changing context and limit the agency of the persecuted through arbitrary state interference. This is most poignantly conveyed through Eilish’s stubbornness in staying in Dublin to look after her father and provide him with consistency and stability despite the fact that even through his dementia he can see that the writing is on the wall.