From a notable new voice in Irish fiction, a refreshingly mature debut that introduces us to three interconnected lives in a vibrant, modern Ireland Civil and Strange transports us to a changing Ireland through the stories of thirty-eight-year-old Ellen; her uncle Matt, a local farmer; and widowed Beatrice, each at a crossroads in their respective lives. Eager to escape Dublin and her failed marriage, Ellen hopes to recapture the magic of her childhood summers in Ballindoon. The last thing she expects is to fall in love -- and with a younger man. Even more surprising is the gossip she invites and the heavy toll that small-town life exacts on her privacy. But as Ellen grows close to Matt and to Beatrice, she begins to understand how the web of connections that defines her new life can also be sustaining. She watches Matt endure and then recover from the death of his embittered wife. Shaken from the suicide of her elder son, Beatrice rejoices in the reappearance of her long-lost younger son. Their fortitude teaches Ellen that even tradition-bound Ballindoon allows for new beginnings. Anchored by the cadences of its Irish setting and the love story at its heart, Civil and Strange offers a moving exploration of the possibilities open to us, at any age, in any place, if only we are brave enough to embrace them.