At college in 1980s Luton, Robbie Goulding, an Irish-born teenager, meets the elusive Fran Mulvey, an orphaned Vietnamese refugee. Together they form a band. Joined by cellist Sarah-Thérèse Sherlock and her twin brother Seán on drums, The Ships in the Night set out to chase fame. But the story of this makeshift family is haunted by ghosts from the past.
Spanning 25 years,The Thrill of it Allrewinds and fast-forwards through an evocative soundtrack of struggle and laughter. Infused with blues, ska, classic showtunes, New Wave and punk, using interviews, lyrics, memoirs and diaries, the tale stretches from suburban England to Manhattans East Village, from Thatcher-era London to the Hollywood Bowl, from the meadows of the Glastonbury Festival to a wintry Long Island, culminating in a Dublin evening in July 2012, a night that changes everything.
A story of loyalties, friendship, the call of the muse, and the beguiling shimmer of teenage dreams, this is a warm-hearted, funny and deeply moving novel for anyone thats ever loved a song.
Joseph OConnor was born in Dublin. His books include seven previous novels:Cowboys and Indians(Whitbread Prize shortlist),Desperadoes,The Salesman,Inishowen,Star of the Sea(American Library Association Award, Irish Post Award for Fiction, Frances Prix Millepages, Italys Premio Acerbi, Prix Madeleine Zepter for European novel of the year),Redemption FallsandGhost Light(Dublin One City One Book Novel 2011). His fiction has been translated into forty languages. He received the 2012 Irish PEN Award for outstanding achievement in literature and in 2014 he was appointed Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.
www.josephoconnorauthor.com
