Trespasses

“Trespasses, set in 1970s Northern Ireland, is Kennedy’s first novel and it has found considerable acclaim—garnering endorsements from the likes of Sarah Moss, Max Porter, and Nick Hornby. It follows a young, female teacher who falls for a married man as The Troubles tear their community apart. He’s a barrister, he tells her, but this is a place where it doesn’t matter what you do—it’s all about ‘what you are.’ They must keep their relationship a secret from everyone they know, for their own safety as much as for marital continuity. The New York Times called it ‘brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking.’ Kennedy, who started writing fiction in her forties, previously published a well-regarded collection of formally inventive short stories, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac.“ Read more...

The 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction Shortlist

Cal Flyn, Five Books Editor