Author(s): Mary Costello

General Fiction

Luke O'Brien has left Dublin to live a quiet life on his family land on the bend of the River Sullane. Alone in his big house, he longs for a return to his family's heyday and turns to books for solace.One morning a young woman arrives at his door and enters his life with profound consequences. Her presence presents him and his family with an almost impossible dilemma.In a novel that pays glorious homage to Joyce, The River Capture tells of one man's descent into near madness, and the possibility of rescue. This is a novel about love, loyalty and the raging forces of nature. More than anything, it is a book about the life of the mind and the redemptive powers of art.

The River Capture by Mary Costello

 This is an utterly beguiling story about a man, a river, and a beautiful stranger. Luke, a Joycean scholar, is taking refuge in his family's rambling house in the Irish countryside after some kind of breakdown. We see him presented with an impossible dilemma when Ruth steps unexpectedly into his life, and he descends into near madness, heartbreak, and ultimately transcendence. This novel tackles all the big questions while paying stunning homage to James Joyce. Poetic and mesmerising. Molly