Overview

My name is Anna, and for some time now, I have been trying to account for certain events in my life—my adult life, that is—which, from this vantage point of forty-five years, I often find baffling. . . . In 1985 Dublin, nineteen-year-old Anna Hughes is in thrall to Peter Gallagher, an older, worldly man. Introverted and naive, Anna is captivated by Peter’s experience, his wide circle of friends and his thirst for adventure. Her obsessive longing for him leads to marriage and, eventually, a crushing betrayal. When Anna meets a kindhearted Algerian man, she finds herself falling in love with him. Life with Karim offers stability and renewed hope and, slowly, Anna begins to uncover deeper layers of herself. Unfolding over twenty-five years, this is a novel about the loss of innocence, the shame and humiliations of love, and the psychological cost of seeking salvation in others. A Beautiful Loan is a devastating story about what it means to be a woman, as well as a testament to literature’s ability to give us a language when we’re lost for words.

Full Product Details

9781324106173

Table of Contents

Reviews

""A Beautiful Loan is like a beautiful piece of music: true, pure, profound. Anna's quest, in mid-life, to understand herself and the forces that have shaped her thus far, moves and compels. The spirit of Camus, that humane existentialist, hovers over the novel like hope. I am filled with admiration for Mary Costello."" -- Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History ""Mary Costello’s A Beautiful Loan creates a gripping and unsparing portrait of Anna Hughes, whose longing to find 'safety and oneness,' and to submit to love, deepens as both inner and outer worlds close in. This unsettling novel opened before me like a Rorschach test, troubling all my interpretations."" -- Madeleine Thien, author of The Book of Records ""An exceptional, compulsive novel of love, loss and courage. Told in poetic, clear-eyed prose, A Beautiful Loan is heart-breaking but unsentimental, and easily Costello’s best work yet."" -- Sinéad Gleeson, author of Constellations: Reflections from Life ""This beautiful book has a hurrying heartbeat like a drum, hurrying us toward something we can’t bear to learn. Mary Costello’s writing is rich in knowing, in yearning, in grief, in a deep understanding of the heart."" -- Roxana Robinson, author of Leaving

Author Information

Mary Costello is the author of two previous novels and two short story collections. Her debut novel, Academy Street, won the Irish Novel of the Year Award and was shortlisted for several prizes. She lives in the west of Ireland.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available