Old God's Time

Paperback Published on: 01/02/2024
Price: £9.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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Old God's Time
Poignant and devastating
Ex-detective Tom Kettle is settling into retirement. He rents one of several flats in a Victorian castle on an island overlooking the Irish Sea. He lives q... READ MORE
Selena, Guildford
Old God's Time
A deeply soulful novel
It's not often you find yourself sinking so deep into a novel that you don't want to resurface, even if it's sad and deals with unimaginable pain. Tom ... READ MORE
Violet Daniels

Synopsis

'Have you ever been the custodian of a story no one else believed?' 'Oh yes,' he said. 'You have?' 'Yes,' he said. 'Then I can tell you.'

Recently retired police officer Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door.

Occasionally, fond memories return, of his family, his beloved wife June and their two children. But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, one which Tom never quite came to terms with, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past.

A beautiful, haunting novel, in which nothing is quite as it seems, Old God's Time is about what we live through, what we live with, and what may survive of us.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Faber & Faber
  • ISBN: 9780571332793
  • Number of pages: 272
  • Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 16 mm
  • Weight: 228g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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Old God's Time
Exceptional as to be expected
As Laureate for Irish Fiction from 2019-2021, you expect Sebastian Barry's writing will be exceptional. And with his upcoming novel he doesn't disappoint. ... READ MORE
Booksadaisyes
Old God's Time
A desperately sad story, beautifully told
Set in mid-90s Ireland, Old God’s Time follows a recently retired police officer whose ex-boss has been told to reopen a cold case which involved two pries... READ MORE
Susan Osborne
Old God's Time
Thought provoking and enthralling
Sebastian Barry once again provides in depth characterisations and tells the powerful story of love and loss and the fight against evil. Set in a seaside t... READ MORE
Caroline Moran
Old God's Time
Vivid descriptions as 66 year old Tom reminisces
Tom is a widower and a retired detective, living alone in the annex of a castle on the coast near Dublin, The main narrative takes place over the course... READ MORE
Geraldine Smyth
Old God's Time
some of the finest prose being written in English today
(spoiler-free review) At a glance, this novel seems to tread in the footsteps of a current favourite of UK TV drama – that of a police procedural investiga... READ MORE
Phil
Old God's Time
Another Barry masterpiece!
A beautifully written haunting novel in which the reader is never quite sure what is real and what merely exists in the troubled mind of Tom Kettle, ex-ser... READ MORE
Bunny Huntington-Gore
Old God's Time
Subject matter not to my taste
Well written but subject matter not to my taste .I would have appreciated a warning that this book involved child abuse.
Stephanie Jones
Old God's Time
Lyrical and contemplative
NO SPOILERS This book covers institutional child abuse, so do be aware. Sebastian Barry is such a skilled writer that though the story and its outcome we... READ MORE
Rebecca Masterman
Old God's Time
Sensitive and moving
A very sensitive and moving novel. A retired Police Officer- Tom Kettles is living alone now in Dalkey, Dublin where he is trying to enjoy and get used to ... READ MORE
Mary Urquhart
Old God's Time
A triumph
Another triumph from Sebastian Barry. A very well written tale that has twists and turns that draw you in. The central character, Tom Kettle, is a recent... READ MORE
chris chanona
Old God's Time
Heartbreaking but compelling
It’s hard to know what to say about a book that is at once so beautifully written but so harrowing to read. Each time I picked it up I was caught up by th... READ MORE
Ann
Old God's Time
Beautifully written
I’ve enjoyed all Sebastian Barry’s books and Old God’s Time is no exception. It’s set in Dalkey, a small coastal town south of Dublin, where Tom, a recentl... READ MORE
Margaret Freeman
Old God's Time
Old God's Time
Tom Kettle is a retired policeman. He lives in an unusual little cottage in the grounds of an old castle near the sea. He knows the names of his neighbours... READ MORE
Karen Barber
Old God's Time
Haunting and heartbreaking
I have to admit, I felt slightly conflicted by this book, while the writing style is beautiful and the lyrical prose exquisitely penned, I found parts of t... READ MORE
Lou B
Old God's Time
Beautiful and distressing, all at once
In Old God’s Time, we walk alongside Tom Kettle, a retired Detective Garda. We stand beside him, while he works through how life has brought him to this po... READ MORE
Jennifer James
Old God's Time
Worth investing time
Can be a tough read at times and I was never sure if it was a story being told in real time or a reflection of Tom’s life both personal and professional- a... READ MORE
John  Baird
Old God's Time
Beautifully written but harrowing story
I heard an interview with Sebastian Barry where he was talking about this book and his writing in general and he did say “…I write peculiar books…” While I... READ MORE
JosieG
Old God's Time
A beautiful, sad and graceful novel
I already know that this is going to be one of my favourite reads of 2023. The only Barry I have read previously is Days Without End which I loved so was e... READ MORE
Callum Langston-Bolt
Old God's Time
Highly Recommended
Old God’s Time is a journey through the mind and memories of Tom Kettle, a man of simple tastes in his late sixties, who was formerly a detective in the Ga... READ MORE
Malcolm  Taylor
Old God's Time
Beautiful book
What a beautiful book! In many parts incredibly sad but also incredibly uplifting. Recent events have forced Tom to think back on his life and that of hi... READ MORE
Viv Rogan
Old God's Time
Ireland in the 90’s
There’s a thread of sadness that runs through this story. Set in Ireland in the 90’s, we’re told about the times back in the 60’s. An era of deprivation an... READ MORE
Gillian Frost
Old God's Time
Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry
A story of a retired policeman who lives in a cottage by the sea. He has neighbours he hardly sees. He passes his days sitting in a wicker chair pondering ... READ MORE
Jo
Old God's Time
Haunting yet compassionate
This is a moving and haunting book. Barry’s descriptions of landscape and the weather create a sense of foreboding from the very start. It builds and devel... READ MORE
Rachel Swaffield
Old God's Time
Not as good as his other work IMO
Having previously loved Sebastian Barry's writing, I went into reading this with very high hopes, which was perhaps not the best approach. While I still re... READ MORE
Claudia George
Old God's Time
Not an easy read, but it’s a worthwhile one
Sebastian Barry's writing and his use of language and sentence structure is so evocotive and compelling. This book is a story without a real plot. It's som... READ MORE
Sharyn Farnaby
Old God's Time
Beautifully written
While you start the book thinking it’s going to be another run of the mill detective story, it soon becomes apparent that this is not the case as the reade... READ MORE
Yvonne Savage
Old God's Time
Beautiful and sad
Another great read by Sebastian Barry. Although difficult on many levels, the content, style and how overwhelmingly sad it makes you feel, it is also beau... READ MORE
Sarah Foley
Old God's Time
Challenging read
A beautifully written story but also a very difficult and challenging read. Tom is a retired policeman who is searching for the truth about aspects of ... READ MORE
Cazb
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.