The Liberty Tree by Suzanne Harrington

Suzanne Harrington's The Liberty Tree was written for her children.    Those two children no longer have a living father, but by writing this book she has made sure that they will always know him - and her.

The Liberty Tree is not just the story of Leo, but the story of Suzanne Harrington too, and at times it makes for some very difficult reading.   Not difficult in the sense that the writing is bad, far from it, but difficult emotionally.  This is a powerful, raw and startlingly honest story that has been bravely written.

Suzanne Harrington was an alcoholic, and a drug user.  Her husband Leo liked to party, but knew his limits.  Leo was a small, worried man, Suzanne was a larger than life, devil-may-care type of person.  As Suzanne slowly disintegrated into the blurry life of the seasoned drinker, Leo disintegrated into himself.  They produced two children, they tried to provide a happy home, despite finding themselves homeless, despite the drink and despite the fact that deep-down they didn't love each other.

If I'd met Suzanne Harrington years ago, when she was a drunken wreck, I probably wouldn't have liked her, she was rude, she was selfish and she cared little for anything else except drink.  If I met Suzanne Harrington today, I'd want to hug her.    She has exposed every little part of herself in this memoir, she doesn't try to justify her actions, she is honest - with herself and with her children.

The Liberty Tree is a wonderful, wonderful read - I laughed, I gasped and yes, I cried.  I cried for Suzanne and for Leo and for their two children.   The story is not all sobbing and sadness though, it is also warm and funny and touching and I grew to love all of the players in this amazing story.

Suzanne Harrington's children are lucky.  Lucky to have a mother who has faced up to her failings, turned herself around and written this amazing account for them, something that they can treasure and be proud of for ever.

My thanks to Stacey from We Love This Book for providing my copy for review.

Suzanne Harrington

The Liberty Tree is published by Atlantic Books on 4 July 2013.   Suzanne Harrington can be found on Twitter.   Find out more about The Liberty Tree @AtlanticBooks #LibertyTree

Suzanne Harrington has at various points been a journalist, TEFL teacher, a dole claimer, a backpacker, a youth worker, a painter, a wardrobe assistant, a washer-upper, a pen pusher, a house cleaner, a comic
bagger, a market stall holder and a cake maker.  She is a columnist for the Irish Examiner and also writes fro the Irish Independent, Irish Times and the Guardian.  She lives in Brighton.

The Story of Before by Susan Stairs

"I wonder today how no one else could see the bad thing coming.  Not that I knew back then what the bad thing was; and if I had - if I'd known one of us was going to die - would there have been anything I could have done to prevent it?  I play back in my mind, over and over.  The clues were all there."

These are the words of eleven-year-old Ruth, the narrator of The Story of Before.   Ruth and her family have just moved into their new Dublin home, away from the house that her Daddy grew up in which became too small for them when baby Kevin was born.   Kevin arrived early, on the day that they moved to the new house, he lived there for all of his life.

Ruth can often tell that something is going to happen, just little things usually, but this time things feel different; whatever is going to happen is going to change their lives, but Ruth doesn't know yet what it will be.

Susan Stairs has created an extraordinary voice in Ruth, she narrates this story with the innocence of a child, but the insight of someone so much older.  The sense of both the 70s era and the insular neighbourhood of the Dublin suburb are beautifully observed, the reader is transported smack bang into times when children had more freedom, the summer was long and hot and parents didn't have to worry.

Although this is a story of heartbreak and tragedy and features much sadness and the problems that families tend to hide behind their front doors, it is also Ruth's story.   Her family is strong, her parents love one another, her older siblings are close and Ruth feels a little left out.  The arrival of baby brother Kevin, is a turning point for her, along with trying to fit into the already closely formed friendship groups on the new estate.  Ruth makes many mistakes along the way.  Choosing the wrong boy to befriend ultimately leads to the incident that will shape the family for ever more.

The Story of Before is an engrossing read that I really found difficult to put down.  I found myself living Ruth's life for her and hoping against hope that her instinct that something bad would happen was wrong.

This is an outstanding debut from Susan Stairs that will keep the reader turning the pages late into the night.

Susan Stairs

The Story of Before was published by Atlantic Books on 4 June 2013 in trade paperback, it is also available as an ebook.   My thanks to Corinna Zifko from the publisher for sending a copy for review.

Born in London, Susan Stairs has lived in Ireland since early childhood.  Involved in the art business for many years, she has written extensively about Irish art and artists.  She received an MA in Creative Writing from University College Dublin in 2009 and was shortlisted for the Davy Byrnes Writing Award in the same year.  She lives in Dublin with her family.  The Story of Before is her first novel.
For more information about the author and her work, visit Facebook here, or Twitter here. 

The Dinner by Herman Koch

Originally written in Dutch, The Dinner has been translated for the English market and was published by Atlantic Books in August 2012.

There is nothing remotely likeable about any of the characters in The Dinner - not one of them, not even the waiters in the restaurant where the story plays out.    Two couples meet for dinner in an expensive, upmarket restaurant.  The story is narrated by Paul, and at first it seems that he and his wife Claire are the more reasonable couple.  They seem pretty average, married with a 15-year-old son.  The other couple; Serge and Babette are glamorous, rich and well-known, it was Serge who was able to get a table in the restaurant at short notice, it is Serge that the other diners try not to stare at.  It soon becomes clear that Paul and Serge are brothers and that throughout their lives, Serge has been the one who shone brightest.

At first the reader empathises with Paul.  How annoying to be the brother of someone who puts on all of these airs and graces, who considers himself to be just that bit better than others.   It doesn't take long though before Paul's true character comes to the fore.  He's not quite the nice guy that he'd like everyone to believe.  There are flashes of violence and aggression in there, although he does his best to reign this in.

The real reason for this dinner soon becomes apparent.  Their children have committed a terrible act and these adults must decide how this will be dealt with.   The reader learns more about the background to this family through a series of recollections, phone-calls and secret meetings in the garden of the restaurant.  The more that is learnt, the more I began to dislike this family very much.

This is a cleverly written story that does engage the reader, but for me it lacked something essential.  I couldn't believe in it.  I couldn't believe that four adults would plot and scheme to protect children that had done something so terrible.  Paul is a deeply flawed character and it is clear that those flaws have been inherited by his son Michel.   Michel seems to care very little about what he has done, although this is not surprising as his father relates his own tales of violence with very little emotion.


The Dinner is the perfect choice for a reading group with much to debate and discuss.  It is an easy read, and at times it is a distressing read.  The author is skilled at creating character and tension.

Herman Koch, born in 1953, is a Dutch writer. He was a renowned television actor on the series Jiskefet and a former columnist for the newspaper Volkskrant. The Dinneris his sixth novel and has already won the prestigious Publieksprijs Prize in 2009. Herman Koch currently lives in Amsterdam.