Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy (2023), published by Faber & Faber
What's it about? Exploring the early days of motherhood, Kilroy delves into the raw, tumultuous emotions of a new mother, as her marriage strains and she grapples with questions of equality, autonomy, and creativity. As Soldier smiles at her baby, Sailor is mentally composing her own suicide note. An old friend makes a welcome return, but can he really offer a lifeline to the woman she used to be?
Why should you read it? A provocative exploration of motherhood that reads with the pace of a thriller and is filled with astute and witty observations. Tendering and harrowing, Soldier Sailor marks a most welcome return by Kilroy with her first novel in a decade.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen: RTÉ Arena on Soldier Sailor
What the critics say: "The final section expands – abruptly, beautifully, agonisingly – to grapple with the true existential crisis at the heart of motherhood: the understanding, born with the baby, that we’re all time’s prisoners and "it will do us in in the end". We crawl out, ultimately, from the chaos of early motherhood, but the love continues to obliterate us." - Sarah Crown, The Guardian.
Kilroy on motherhood… "It’s the most rewarding thing there can be, but I would also like to acknowledge that, certainly in the pre-school years, you veer from boredom to panic to boredom to panic. I was trying to write about how it feels, everything about this novel is the feelings."
For readers of… Night Waking, Sarah Moss; A Life’s Work, Rachel Cusk; Motherhood, Helen Simpson.
Read more Book Club Bluffers Guides here.
