The stunning new short novel from the bestselling author of Brooklyn and Long Island

'A writer at the height of his considerable powers' - The Guardian
'A giant amongst storytellers' - The Telegraph
'One of our finest contemporary writers' - New Yorker

Miquel and his father are living an uneasy life together in his mother's house in the Pyrenees, the house she had been returning to on the day she died. A new bridge, connecting the two valleys, is almost complete, which will end the valley's isolation and create an easier route to smuggle contraband deep into the mountains. Where Miquel's father imagines opportunity, Miquel foresees disaster and an exposure to a modern way of living for which his father is desperately unprepared.

Colm Tóibín's exhilarating short novel contains vast inner and outer worlds within its pages. With meticulous precision and an unerring eye Toibin captures lives caught between the past and the present, and the journey of a young man seeking connection, haunted by loss.

Colm Tóibín was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of several novels, including The Master, Brooklyn and The Magician, and two collections of stories. He has been three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2021, he was awarded the David Cohen Prize for Literature. Tóibín was appointed the Laureate for Irish Fiction 2022-2024.