Trespasses is set in 1970s Belfast, Northern Ireland and is the story of 24-year-old Cushla. Her unusual name is a traditional Irish girl’s name that means ‘darling’ or ‘beat of my heart’ – just adding this fact here as I had never heard this name before and thought it was lovely.
But back to the book – Trespasses was such a heart-breaking, visceral experience, but in a way you can’t stop reading. I was fully invested in Cushla’s story and even though I knew something was looming due to the tension thrumming through the pages (and the prologue, to be fair) I was desperately hoping things would turn out differently for her.
Opening sentence: They follow the guide, a thin, pale girl.
Cushla and her family are Catholic. She is a primary school teacher and lives with her mum, Gina. Her family own a pub, currently run by her brother, Eammon. While helping him out working a shift there, she meets Michael Agnew, a barrister. He’s a lot older than Cushla, married and a Protestant. They couldn’t be more different and yet, the attraction is there.
Behind her, the jingle for the news was playing. She placed a beer mat under Michael’s glass. She felt his fingertips on her wrist, just for a second.
If you’re not familiar, The Troubles is a phrase used to describe the political and religious unrest in Northern Ireland from the 1960s until 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement brought peace. Read more about The Troubles here. It is against this high-stakes backdrop that Cushla and Michael’s story is set.
The Irish for no
The two become closer when Michael asks Cushla to help teach his friends Irish. His friends are well aware of his wife and what Cushla is actually doing in their social circle. It is a high-tension dynamic across the board. And that’s why it is so addictive to read.
The other aspect of Cushla’s story is her relationship with Davy McGeown, a boy in her class who has a troubled home-life. These two sides of Cushla’s life crash in the most dramatic way possible for a truly gripping but heart-wrenching story.
Hard to imagine
One thing Trespasses does so well is capture the true horror of living in Northern Ireland at this time, when bombs and army raids were just part of life. They take it all as it comes, in Cushla’s school they have ‘The News’, where the kids have to go around and say something that’s happened that day. Often bombs come up, it’s just part of their life, such a crazy thing when you stop and think that that really was the reality of life for people.
The writing in Trespasses is so powerful, it’s what drew me in and kept me hooked. The fact you know what is going to happen doesn’t dampen the taught anticipation in any way. It’s one of those books that haunted my thoughts long after I’d finished reading it.
- Get your copy Trespasses here;
- Published by Bloomsbury 2022;
- 309 pages;
- My rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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