And the Birds Kept on Singing
And the Birds Kept on Singing by Simon Bourke is a literary work published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on December 11, 2016. This 596-page novel explores the life of Sinéad McLoughlin, who, faced with an unplanned pregnancy at seventeen, decides to run away from home to England with the intention of putting her child up for adoption. However, upon seeing her son for the first time, she realizes she cannot bear to part with him, despite the fact that he has already been promised to another family.
The narrative unfolds two parallel stories about Sinéad’s choices regarding her son. In one storyline, she keeps him and returns to her parents in 1980s Ireland as a single mother, while in the other, she relinquishes him to the Philliskirks, who can provide a life she feels unable to offer. As her son grows into a young man, Sinéad grapples with the emotional consequences of her decisions, questioning whether she made the right choice and whether regret will shadow her life. This edition presents a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the complexities of motherhood within the framework of literary fiction.
Official synopsis Publisher
Pregnant at seventeen, Sinéad McLoughlin does the only thing she can; she runs away from home. She will go to England and put her child up for adoption. But when she lays eyes on it for the first time, lays eyes on him, she knows she can never let him go.
Just one problem. He’s already been promised to someone else.
A tale of love and loss, remorse and redemption, And the birds kept on singing tells two stories, both about the same boy. In one Sinéad keeps her son and returns home to her parents, to nineteen-eighties Ireland and life as a single mother. In the other she gives him away, to the Philliskirks, Malcolm and Margaret, knowing that they can give him the kind of life she never could.
As her son progresses through childhood and becomes a young man, Sinéad is forced to face the consequences of her decision. Did she do the right thing? Should she have kept him, or given him away? And will she spend the rest of her life regretting the choices she has made?
SHORTLISTED FOR BEST NOVEL AT THE 2017 CAROUSEL AWARDS
Praise for ‘And the birds kept on singing’, “A brave and admirably ambitious first novel, full of heart and emotion” – Joseph O’Connor “Funny, insightful, immensely sad in places, nostalgic, thought-provoking and entertaining. Bourke’s characterisations are masterful and I am ready to devour whatever he writes next” – The TBR Pile “powerful, moving and has an amazing sense of realism” – What Cathy Read Next
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