Outside an east Belfast mission hall, pastor and family man Samuel Orr meets Anna, a young Beckett scholar. They embark on an intense love affair, their connection fuelled by their respective passions. When Anna falls pregnant, the affair is revealed. The repercussions are slow to emerge but inescapable, and the fallout is shocking, cruel and violent. More than thirty years later Sam, their son, is in New York, living a steady, guarded life, his childhood and family safely abandoned. But the sins of the fathers are not to be so easily buried; the past crashes inevitably into the present, and Sam is forced to confront the fears he has kept close for decades.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Phil Harrison's first feature film, The Good Man, was released in 2014. His earlier short, Even Gods, won the short film award at the Belfast, Galway and Cork Film Festivals in 2011, and was shortlisted for the best short script at the 2012 Irish Screenwriting Awards. He lives in Belfast. The First Day is his debut novel.
Hugely impressive. A finely written tale which is original, compulsive, and at times chilling -- Sue Leonard * Irish Examiner * Written with a burning intensity, this is a powerful novel about marriage, passion, anger and guilt. -- Fanny Blake * Daily Mail * Filmic in its scope and intensity . . . I hope we're in for more from this striking new voice in fiction -- Jamie Quatro, author of Fire Sermon * Guardian * The First Day is a stark and spare story of a family divided . . . a stark and spare story of a family divided * Sunday Business Post * Deeply disturbing, morally challenging . . . remarkable * Publishers Weekly * Gripping . . . This is a truly excellent novel, on all counts. The First Day is as well-written as any Irish novel I've read, with tight, dispassionate and superbly controlled prose * Belfast Telegraph * Harrison writes well and brings Belfast and the sectarian conflict vividly to life * Catholic Herald * This is a truly excellent novel, on all counts . . . an unflinching yet compassionate investigation of matters of the human heart . . . [a] fine work of artistic invention * Irish Independent * A wonderful debut. A fully engaging, well-written, very imaginative novel * Irish Times * Hugely impressive. A finely written tale which is original, compulsive, and at times chilling * Irish Examiner * Written with a burning intensity, this is a powerful novel about marriage, passion, anger and guilt * Daily Mail * In true Belfast style, Phil Harrison has planted a flag. The First Day is not just a novel, it's a declaration, full worthy of salute -- Glenn Patterson The First Day is an age-old story of forbidden love, given fresh resonance against the backdrop of the fractured, changing but still deeply conservative society that is contemporary Northern Ireland. Phil Harrison writes with compassion and tenderness, never veering into sentimentality, about his young Beckett scholar and the married pastor she falls in love with. He has a screenwriter's ear for the way people talk, the cadences and omissions of their speech, and in particular the speech of religious Ulster, still rooted so deeply in the language and rhythms of the King James Bible. He illuminates a people - a place - seeking to escape from itself, seeking transfiguration, but desperately bound to what has gone before -- Lucy Caldwell Set in a defamiliarised Belfast, The First Day is an auspicious debut - crisp, spare, lean and compelling -- Patrick McCabe, author of The Butcher Boy Terrific, it is expanding and expanding all the time, like its own model universe - I just think it is pretty marvellous -- Sebastian Barry
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 6.41
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR009391623
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom
Condition: VeryGood. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Seller Inventory # wbs3191835868
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Outside an east Belfast mission hall, pastor and family man Samuel Orr meets Anna, a young Beckett scholar. They embark on an intense love affair, their connection fuelled by their respective passions. When Anna falls pregnant, the affair is revealed. The repercussions are slow to emerge but inescapable, and the fallout is shocking, cruel and violent.More than thirty years later Sam, their son, is in New York, living a steady, guarded life, his childhood and family safely abandoned.But the sins of the fathers are not to be so easily buried; the past crashes inevitably into the present, and Sam is forced to confront the fears he has kept close for decades. Set in Ireland and New York, a debut novel about an affair and its explosive consequences--the sins of the father visited on the son in unexpected and irreversible ways. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780708898567
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. 0.4. Seller Inventory # 0708898564-2-3
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: PBShop.store UK, Fairford, GLOS, United Kingdom
PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # AR-9780708898567
Quantity: 7 available
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 40731114-20
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The First Day This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780708898567
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: WYEMART LIMITED, HEREFORD, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Seller Inventory # mon0000250907
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780708898567
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: booksXpress, Bayonne, NJ, U.S.A.
Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780708898567
Quantity: 1 available