The Map of Tenderness - Hardcover

'I enjoyed MINDING CHILDREN enormously, he is such a writer - lyrical and cruel and bold and with metaphors to die for' - Kate Atkinson [MINDING CHILDREN]: 'A beautifully choreographed "danse macabre" of Catholic guilt and implosive rage' - Graham Caveney, Express [MINDING CHILDREN]: '[A] haunting, compelling novel...Wall has succeeded in producing a rare thing: a page-turning work of literary fiction.' - Sue, Books Ireland MINDING CHILDREN 'A beautifully written novel, with...layers and layers of fine writing like snowdrifts...Wall brilliantly, relentlessly, reveals how our natural senses of superiority ensure that we can be completely taken in by the simple, good face worn by genuine evil.' - Dina Rabinovitch, Independent [ALICE FALLING]: 'An intelligent and well-crafted book...the haunting eloquence of Wall's prose make it an evocative and compelling read...an excellent debut' - Irish News

In his mid-thirties, Joe Lyons leads a solitary life as a writer, having never had much luck with relationships - including with his own family, whom he has alienated with the publication of his autobiographical first novel. So when Joe meets and falls in love with a young music teacher, he can't believe his luck. But, just as he is beginning to trust Suzie's feelings for him, the news comes that his mother is seriously ill. When he and his sister return to the family farm they discover that their mother's illness is hereditary. A terrible fate seems in store, with profound implications for Joe's future with Suzie. In the searing experience of loss, Joe, like his father, learns to understand the nature of love.