Overview

As spring evenings lengthen over Kilnavarn House, two sisters, looking after their infirm mother, navigate the fragile territory between past and present. Memories of a troubled upbringing resurface and the house holds onto the women, as it always has, refusing to let them go until long suppressed truths are spoken. Sweep the Cobwebs Off the Sky is a tender exploration of ageing, memory, place, and the desire for reconciliation.

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9781068716256

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Reviews

'Sweep the Cobwebs Off the Sky is a brilliant study of the blighted relationships within a family. In scenes that are deeply moving, and in moments that can veer from the tender to the tempestuous, it evokes the extreme feelings, vulnerabilities and contradictions of love that exist in all families. More than anything, O'Donnell captures, with vim and verve, the sometimes brutal love between a mother and daughter.' Mary Costello: author of the Irish Times Bestseller, Barcelona 'Sweep the Cobwebs Off the Sky ia A subtle, intricate and thoughtful study of life, of the painful process of ageing, of sibling rivalry and the vicissitudes of family. I have no doubt it will be a success with reviewers and readers alike.' John Banville: author of Book Prize winning, The Sea 'A piercing exploration of the immemorial themes: family, memory and the desire to investigate the mystery of what holds us together.' Colum McCann: author of Let the Great World Spin 'Absorbing, meditative, and deeply attentive to the power of place - and to the long shadows that memory casts across our lives.' Neil Hegarty: author of Inch Levels and The Jewel 'This is a profound novel about the life of a dutiful daughter, caring for her once beautiful, charming mother - now suffering from dementia in her old age.The complex relationships of mother and daughter, and of sisters, are explored with compassion and sharp psychological insight. Perfectly drawn characters, lyrical but lucid writing, and above all an understanding of the love and hate, patience and intolerance, which can bind or destroy families, render this Mary O'Donnell's finest novel. Seldom has the role of the daughter as carer for the aged parent been so subtly and honestly portrayed. It's a masterpiece.' Éilís Ní Dhuibhne: Laureate of Irish Fiction

Author Information

Mary O’Donnell has been publishing novels, short stories and poetry since 1990 and her work is regarded as key in expanding the horizons of Ireland’s traditionally male-dominated literary world. The Light Makers, Mary’s debut best-selling novel, received the Sunday Tribune’s Best New Irish Novel 1992 Award and her other published novels include The Elysium Testament and Where They Lie. Her most recent and highly praised collection of short stories, Walking Ghosts was published in 2025. Her poetry has been translated into Hungarian, Spanish and Portuguese In 2023 she received an An Post Irish Book Award for her political poem Vectors in Kabul. Mary has taught Creative Writing at the universities of Galway, Maynooth, University College Dublin and University College Cork, as well as for the University of São Paulo. Mary has also held several prominent international writing residencies including at the Princess Grace Irish Library Monaco, the Irish College in Paris, and the Irish College in Leuven and she is a member of Ireland’s affiliation of artists, Aosdána.

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