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The Ghostlights

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About this listen

Can anyone really choose to be forgotten?

An elderly gentleman checks into a B&B in a small village in rural Ireland where he knows nobody. Four days later, his body is found in the lake.

The identity of their unknown guest raises questions for one family in particular, twin sisters Liv and Marianne, and their mother, Ethel, each of whom is searching for her own place in the world.

The Ghostlights brilliantly evokes the lives of the people in the town and explores the aftershocks of a stranger’s tragedy. What is identity? And strangerhood? What is the meaning of home, and what power do we have over whether or not we are remembered?

©2021 Gráinne Murphy (P)2021 W F Howes Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural Village

Critic reviews

"A truly brilliant debut." (Emily Mazzara, Books Ireland)

"With sentences that you will want to cut out and keep, this is an intelligent, exquisitely crafted debut." (Fiona Mitchell)

"Original and shattering." (Marianne Lee)
All stars
Most relevant
I felt the story was quite depressing and although it brought me back to am Ireland of my childhood the mood and conversations were very dark. A bit of lightness between family would have lifted the mood slightly. I am not denying that the man's death, alcohol abuse, sibling riverly were all deep and dark subjects but the overall feeling was sadness and missed opportunities.
it was a heavy listen.

The sense of Community

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The Irish countryside comes to life in this novel by one of its own, teasing meaning from a real-life mystery.

Intimate look at rural Irish life

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The characters are real people and i identified with each of them. Their internal dialogues were rich and 3D in a unique way. Each resonated with me which was unlike characters in any other books, Wholeheartedly recommend!

Intelligently and emphatically written

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I’m not sure what the point of the story was. Also the recording of one of characters was very echoey and of a much poorer quality.

Poor performance

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Nice voice and well constructed but boring story. Didn't really get into it, but quite liked Ethel.

waiting for something to happen

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