The Dazzling Truth: A Novel

by Helen Cullen

Overview

One Irish family. Three decades. One dazzling story.

“A love letter to family and to the arts. Beautiful.”
—Maggie Smith, author of Good Bones

In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.

Decades later, on a small Irish island, the Moone family are poised for celebration but instead are struck by tragedy. Each family member must find solace in their own separate way, until one dazzling truth brings them back together. But as the Moone family confront the past, they also journey toward a future that none of them could have predicted. Except perhaps Maeve herself.

“A perfect combination of deeply felt tragedy with great hopefulness.”
—Anne Youngson, author of Meet Me at the Museum

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525815829
Publisher:	Graydon House Books
Publication date:	08/18/2020
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

HELEN CULLEN wrote her debut novel, The Lost Letters of William Woolf, while completing the Guardian/UEA novel writing program. She holds an MA in Theatre Studies from University College Dublin and is currently studying further at Brunel. Prior to writing full-time, Helen worked in journalism, broadcasting and most recently as a creative events and engagement specialist. Helen is Irish and currently lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

06/15/2020

Cullen (The Lost Letters of William Woolf) reveals how an aspiring actor’s losing battle with depression impacts the lives of those she loves. In 1978 Dublin, Maeve Moretti is attending Trinity College when she falls in love with fellow student Murtagh Moone, who is drawn to her “Technicolor” radiance without knowing about her dark episodes. When Murtagh is offered an apprenticeship with a potter living on the island of Inis Og after graduation, he accepts the position and asks Maeve to marry him. They wed and move to the island, and Maeve continues working on her acting career, while Murtagh takes over the potter’s business. After the couple has four children, Maeve is overcome by her depression and drowns herself. Murtagh struggles with the motivation to continue his pottery business as the younger children try to understand why their mother left so abruptly. Ten years later, when the siblings come home for the 30th birthday party for the eldest daughter, Murtagh shares some surprising news, and they must decide whether to accept the changes in Murtagh’s life. Cullen’s lyrical prose drives the immersive and heart-wrenching narrative. This complex study of depression and its impact on family dynamics will lure readers. Agent: Kim Witherspoon, InkWell Management. (Aug)

Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR THE DAZZLING TRUTH

“Love is here in spades... clear a weekend for this gorgeous read.”
—Library Journal (STARRED REVIEW)

“Cullen’s lyrical prose drives the immersive and heart-wrenching narrative. This complex study of depression and its impact on family dynamics will lure readers.”
—Publishers Weekly

“With a group of well-crafted, intriguing characters, [Cullen] realistically portrays a tight-knit group of people trying to grow up and grow old under the shadow of a tragedy they can never understand. Readers will enjoy experiencing a slice of life in this small Irish community, and embrace the very interesting characters who live there.”
—Booklist

“Such a true gift of a novel, with its sumptuous forward momentum, and rare precision, and inspired imagery. The Dazzling Truth generates a very bright light, one that is human, graceful, and healing. It’s an absolute pleasure to read.”
—Sebastian Barry

“An Irish novel moves from a family's joy to tragedy and back in this poignant yet hopeful novel spanning the late 1970s to 2015.“ —Shelf Awareness

"Absolute poetry and a love letter to family and to the arts. The empathy in this book is beautiful.”
—Maggie Smith, award-winning author of Good Bones and Keep Moving

“A perfect combination of deeply felt tragedy with great hopefulness.”
—Anne Youngson, author of Meet Me at the Museum

“An extremely moving read. Helen Cullen handles the complexities of love, grief, family life and mental illness with sensitivity and depth. A truly gorgeous novel.”
—Ali Land, bestselling author of Good Me, Bad Me

“I devoured this, falling in love with the setting and with every character—and when I reached the end, I wept because it is just glorious. The Dazzling Truth is a sweeping family saga and at the same time, a close-up on the everyday beautiful details that make up love.”
—Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths

“A beautiful bittersweet story of love, loss and families all set in the most irresistible of locations. Tears were shed!”
—Graham Norton, BBC

“​​​​​​​Cullen’s beautifully observed novel The Dazzling Truth charts a family across 37 years, living through a tragedy on a remote island; portraying mental health and the fall-out around it with enormous humanity and integrity. Tonally reminiscent of recent Colm Tóibín.”
—Caoilinn Hughes, author of Orchid and The Wasp and The Wild Laughter

“A beautiful novel. Helen Cullen writes with such deft care and attention about the things that hold us together when everything falls apart.”
—Rónán Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul

“Helen Cullen is so wonderful on the Irish family and the utter complexity of motherhood, family entanglement and love. I was full on weeping at the end.”
—Elaine Feeney, author of As You Were

“In The Dazzling Truth, Cullen has woven a powerful and poignant narrative told over a lifetime; exploring unconditional love, heartbreak and the beautiful flaws of human nature set within a family unit. She is an astute and empathic writer and an incredible voice in Irish literature. You'll fall in love with the Moone family and they will linger in your heart long after you read the final pages.”
—Cat Hogan, author of They All Fall Down and There Was A Crooked Man

“The Dazzling Truth is such a tender read. Astute and compassionate, it made me cry. It’s full of love. And it’s quietly magnificent.”
—Tor Udall, author of A Thousand Paper Birds

“A beautifully observed saga of abandoned dreams, loss and self-discovery.”
—Alan McMonagle, author of Ithaca

“A beautiful story. I was gripped and held in a state of love for all the characters.”
—Sarah Winman, author of When God was a Rabbit and Tin Man


“A tender and unflinching exploration of mental illness and how it can eat into the heart of a family. Full of empathy and genuinely moving, a novel that will stay with me for a long time.”
—Christine Dwyer Hickey, author of The Narrow Land

From the Publisher

★ 06/01/2020

When Maeve Morelli, a just-arrived Brooklyn student, meets Murtagh Moone outside Trinity College, Dublin, it starts a saga that will stay with readers long after they have followed the family's trail from 1978 to 2015. Murtagh, a potter, and Maeve, an aspiring actress, fall hard for each other and are quickly married and then move to Inis Óg, an island off the west coast of Ireland, where they raise twin sons and two daughters. The book opens with a search for Maeve, whose body washes ashore with stones in her pockets. The effect of the suicide on each family member and on the clan as a whole is perfectly drawn by Cullen (The Lost Letters of William Woolf), an Irish author living in London, whose time away has not dimmed her ability to write pitch-perfect rural Irish conversations and characters. Maeve's depression hangs over the book, but love is here in spades, too, and the twist in devotion that Murtagh takes to close the story is just right. VERDICT Warn your patrons to clear a weekend for this gorgeous read.—Henrietta Verma, Credo Reference, New York, NY

Library Journal