This book and the story behind it were so powerful. It was atmospheric and as a reader you felt the ever-growing tension and discomfort increase throughout. 

I really loved the dialogue and could immediately pick up the accents and dialect in my head from the start. The way that it was introduced, with the characters and setting was really well done. 

At the heart of it all, this was a book about a man who cares for his family, desperately wants to know more about his own, and doesn’t want others to suffer. He is beginning to learn more about the impact of religion and the silences of those surrounding it and involved with it, and can’t quite ignore it all. It was a topic that I myself was unfamiliar with too until I had begun to read this, so clearly needs some more awareness, especially given the difficulty in receiving an apology in the first place. 

It just felt so much like a prize winning book so I absolutely understand the booker prize shortlist. The brevity of the book felt like it fit the story perfectly and it just left me thinking for so long, about so many topics. A really important read.