Saoirse

Saoirse

$33.59

Biographical Note: Charleen Hurtubise is a novelist, essayist, and artist. She is the author of The Polite Act of Drowning, published in Ireland and the UK in 2023. Saoirse is her US debut. She holds...

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Biographical Note:
Charleen Hurtubise is a novelist, essayist, and artist. She is the author of The Polite Act of Drowning, published in Ireland and the UK in 2023. Saoirse is her US debut. She holds an M.Sc. from Trinity College Dublin and an MFA in creative writing from University College Dublin, where she has facilitated creative writing seminars. The sixth sister in a family of nine, she spent much of her childhood in Michigan, her early adult years in Boston, and has now lived half of her life in Ireland, which is home. Though she lives in Dublin with her Irish family, the pull of Donegal never leaves and continues to influence her drawings and writings, including Saoirse.

Brief Description:
"For fans of Colm Toibin and Claire Keegan, Saoirse is a propulsive story set in the US and Ireland about one woman and the lies she has told in order to survive In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an idyllic life. Her handsome partner, Daithi, and two beautiful daughters are regular subjects for her work and are the continual source of her hope and inspiration. Each day, she pours her heart into her family, using her painting and sketching to express her love for them. But Saoirse is not entirely who she says she is. And when her Dublin exhibition wins a prestigious award, the unanticipated recognition that comes with it threatens to expose all she has had to do in order to escape her old life, bringing a decade's worth of buried memories to the surface. At the age of seventeen, Saoirse went on the run from her hometown in Michigan, booking a one-way ticket to Ireland and developing an entangled relationship with a young man along the way. As she leaned into her new identity, she hoped she'd made it to safety once and for all. But she can't outrun her past forever, and now that Saoirse's cherished world is put in peril, facing her painful childhood might prove to be her only salvation. Saoirse is an evocative, suspenseful, and inventive exploration of the intimate relationship between art and life and the lies we tell ourselves in the name of reinvention"-- Provided by publisher.

Review Quotes:

"Saoirse is a delicious literary jigsaw, leaving the reader to piece together the memories, paintings, and confessions of our eponymous heroine. Beautifully written and enticingly intriguing... Charleen Hurtubise is a shiny new star in the Irish literary firmament."
--Liz Nugent, bestselling author of Strange Sally Diamond and Unraveling Oliver

"Audacious and propulsive, a story that surges with emotional vitality--this is a dazzling novel."
--Colin Walsh, author of Kala

"A novel as rich with narrative layers as the visual art of its protagonist, yet limned with trauma, with the consequences of secrecy and silence, and with the hope that can come from true connection and community, Saoirse is an audacious act of storytelling."
--Belinda McKeon, author of Tender and Solace
"Searing and intimate."
-- New York Times

"Utterly beautiful with lyrical prose and storytelling, I loved this!"
--Nina Pottell, Prima Magazine
"A beautifully wrought, deeply human story of the power of creativity in the face of survival. By turns funny and moving, with an unforgettable cast of characters (with a special mention to Daithí, the Mr. Darcy of Donegal) Saoirse brims with humanity and hope."
―Louise Nealon, author of Snowflake
" Saoirse is utterly absorbing as both a character study and a mystery. Beautifully written, with poignancy and depth, this is one that will stay with me."
―Jo Spain
"Gripping and emotionally complex, Saoirse is a moving portrait of love, heartbreak and the sacrifices one woman makes for the family and life she deserves...luminous!"
― Michelle Gallen, author of Factory Girls
"Hurtubise balances grit and tenderness on a high wire of sustained tension."
―Lauren McKenzie, author of The Couples
"Hurtubise places her memorable heroine at the center of a propulsive and twisty plot, and makes Saoirse's desire for freedom palpable on every page. It's a knockout."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"An acclaimed novelist in the UK and Ireland, Hurtubise delivers a stellar U.S. debut, spinning a transcendent journey of discovery that radiates with exceptional honesty and lingering atmospheric depth."
-- Booklist

"Laced with trauma and tenderness, Saoirse is a remarkable feat of storytelling that spans decades and continents but never feels overwhelming or undercooked."
-- BookBrowse

"Stunning story-telling."
―Good Housekeeping
"A beautiful, immersive read."
- Montecito Journal

"Art, freedom and love fill this beautifully written story with heartbreaking emotion, and enough suspense to keep you turning the pages. Pour a cup of tea, wear something green, and lose yourself in this incredible Irish novel."
- Keys Weekly



Publisher Marketing:

For readers of Colm Tóibín and Claire Keegan, Saoirse is a powerful novel set between the United States and Ireland about a woman who runs from her traumatic past and the secrets she carries to survive.

In Michigan, Sarah's childhood was defined by fear and silence. As a teenager, she saw a chance to escape and took it. Now, in 1999, she is an artist living on the rugged coast of Donegal, Ireland, where she is known as Saoirse (pronounced Sear-sha)--a name that sounds like the sea and means freedom in the language of her adopted country. And free is precisely how she is finally beginning to feel. Her partner and two beloved daughters are regular subjects of her paintings, and together they have made the safe home she always longed for. But Saoirse's secrets haunt her. No one must learn of the identity she has stolen in order to survive; they cannot know of the dangers that she crossed an ocean to escape.

When her artwork wins unexpected acclaim at a Dublin exhibition, the spotlight of fame threatens to unravel the careful lies that hold her world together. Journalists and admirers begin to ask questions about the mysterious artist from Donegal, and she fears the unwanted publicity will expose all that she has done.

Saoirse is an evocative, suspenseful exploration of the intimate relationship between art and life and the lies we tell ourselves in the name of reinvention.



Review Citations:

  • Booklist 01/01/2026 (EAN 9781250400642, Hardcover)
  • Publishers Weekly 12/08/2025 (EAN 9781250400642, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
  • Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2026 (EAN 9781250400642, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Hurtubise, Charleen
Charleen Hurtubise is a novelist, essayist, and artist. She is the author of The Polite Act of Drowning, published in Ireland and the UK in 2023. Saoirse is her US debut. She holds an M.Sc. from Trinity College Dublin and an MFA in creative writing from University College Dublin, where she has facilitated creative writing seminars. The sixth sister in a family of nine, she spent much of her childhood in Michigan, her early adult years in Boston, and has now lived half of her life in Ireland, which is home. Though she lives in Dublin with her Irish family, the pull of Donegal never leaves and continues to influence her drawings and writings, including Saoirse.