Also available by David Park
The Truth Commissioner
In a society trying to heal the scars of the past with the salve of truth and reconciliation, four men’s lives become linked in a way they could never have imagined. Henry Stanfield, the newly arrived Truth Commissioner, Francis Gilroy, recently appointed government minister, retired detective James Fenton and father-to-be Danny share a secret from their past that threatens to destroy the lives they have painstakingly built in the present.
‘Edgy and compelling . . . yields moments of heart-shivering beauty ... a magnificent and important book’ Joseph O’Connor, Guardian
‘A fine, crafted novel, but it is also an important book . . . He sets out to examine what it means to be alive – and does so in fictions that are subtle, understated, not without a hint of menace and always courageous’ Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
‘We’re reminded that with writers like David Park, the novel can itself be a kind of truth commission’ New York Times
ISBN: 978 0 7475 9633 2 / Paperback / £7.99
BLOOMSBURY
Swallowing the Sun
Shortlisted for Irish Novel of the Year
Having survived a brutal childhood in the heart of Belfast, Martin has built a life that he never imagined, and always fears he does not deserve. He has a devoted wife, a son and a daughter whose academic success is launching her out of her proud father’s orbit.
Returning home one night to find police cars waiting, he thinks his sins have finally caught up with him, but instead the news is wholly unexpected; a senseless and devastating tragedy. And in the face of the trauma, which tears his fragile family apart, Martin finds that the violence of his past has not gone but is merely dormant; its call must be answered.
‘It establishes beyond doubt that David Park is one of the most gifted writers in contemporary Ireland’ Irish Times
‘Technically brilliant and emotionally powerful, Swallowing the Sun thrills even as it breaks your heart’ Glenn Patterson
‘Park writes prose of gravity and grace, full of great looping rhythms and subtly recurring motifs ... it is hard to think of a more skilful contemporary Irish novelist’ Joseph O’Connor, Guardian
ISBN: 978 0 7475 9927 2 / Paperback / £7.99
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A Note on the Author
David Park has published six novels, including The Healing, Swallowing the Sun and The Truth Commissioner and one volume of short stories Oranges from Spain. He was the winner of the Authors’ Club First Novel Award, the Bass Ireland Arts Award for Literature and a twice-winner of the The University of Ulster’s McCrea Literary Award. He lives in County Down, Northern Ireland with his wife and two children.
By the Same Author
Swallowing the Sun
The Big Snow
Stone Kingdoms
The Rye Man
The Healing
The Truth Commissioner
The Light of Amsterdam
Copyright © 2002 by David Park
The moral right of the author has been asserted
This electronic edition published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
A CIP catalogue record is available from the British Library
eISBN 978 1 4088 3623 1
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Epigraph
Contents
The Light of the World
Snow Trails
The Wedding Dress
Against the Cold
The Big Snow
Also available by David Park
A Note on the Author
By the Same Author
eCopyright