Tell Me What I Am: 'Beautiful, haunting.' LOUISE KENNEDY

Moving between a missing sister and the daughter growing up under her father’s control, the novel traces the chain of coercion and violence hidden inside a family. It is both a search for the truth and a quiet account of damaged relationships trying to reconnect.

family disappearancedomestic abusecoercive controlsisterhoodmother-daughter relationshipsuspense

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Work Information

The absence of a lost sister slowly reshapes the time left to the family behind.

A missing sister leaves two lives running on parallel tracks: the sister who stays behind, and the daughter growing up with her father. Through their separate viewpoints, the novel gradually reveals coercion, violence, and a truth that has been buried inside the family for years.

Review Summaries

Readers praise the dual-perspective structure and the slow-burn depiction of coercive control and family damage, though some feel the pacing is deliberate and the novel reads less like a conventional thriller.

Book Information

Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 2024-06-06
Pages: 336 pages
Language: 英語
Size: 12.9 x 1.78 x 19.81 cm
ISBN-13: 9780571358793
ISBN-10: 0571358799
Price: 3067 JPY
Category: 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Thrillers/Psychological & Suspense

WINNER OF THE CWA GOLD DAGGER SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ENCORE AWARD From the internationally bestselling author of A Crooked Tree 'Beautiful, haunting.' LOUISE KENNEDY 'Vividly real . . . There's love here as well as pain.' MARIAN KEYES 'Deeply moving.' OBSERVER 'A sure-footed and emotionally complex novel . . . absorbing.' IRISH TIMES 'I loved it.' LIZ NUGENT Please don't hang up. I don't know if you remember. You used to live with me. You and your mother. Ruby lives with her father in an old farmhouse at the end of a dirt road. He teaches her to hunt, to forage for mushrooms, to gut a fish. She learns to tiptoe around his temper - and never to ask about her absent mother. Ruby has no idea that, hundreds of miles away, a woman she barely remembers is desperate to answer those same questions. Captivating, tender and deeply moving, Tell Me What I Am is an unforgettable portrait of the indelible bonds of family - and how far we will go for the ones we love. 'Haunting and deeply moving.' OBSERVER 'Propulsive and richly atmospheric.' IRISH INDEPENDENT 'An engrossing, deftly-told story with an aching secret at its heart, this is a profoundly moving novel of family and women standing strong together.' LISA BALLANTYNE 'Sharp, poignant, thrilling and moving.' CHRIS WHITAKER 'Compelling . . . Mannion writes with a lyrical economy that stands out, and always shows a deep empathy for her well-drawn characters.' IRISH EXAMINER 'A wrenching portrait of the umbilical bond between mother and child and, more powerfully still, an icily persuasive account of the subtle dark arts of male coercion and abuse.' DAILY MAIL WHAT READERS ARE SAYING: 'A brilliantly told story, engrossing, with love, pain, heartbreak and darkness. The characterisation was excellent and the plot was moving and gently woven.' 5* reader review 'I raced through... Well-written, incredibly tense and chilling in parts.' 5* reader review 'A book to savour and appreciate as well as enjoy.' 5* reader review 'This is such a powerful story of love and family. It kept me awake desperate to find out what had happened to affect them all so badly.' 5* reader review 'This is a beautifully written novel with powerfully drawn characters.' 5* reader review 'Had me hooked... Loved it.' 5* reader review 'Wow what a book!' 5* reader review **Una Mannion's first novel, A Crooked Tree , is available now**

Una Mannion is based in County Sligo Ireland. Her debut novel A Crooked Tree made the Irish bestsellers list, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Emerging Writer Award and won the Kate O'Brien Prize. Her second novel Tell Me What I Am was shortlisted for the Encore Awards and was the winner of the prestigious Gold Dagger at the CWA Dagger Awards. She edits The Cormorant, a broadsheet of poetry and prose and teaches creative writing at the Oscar Wilde Centre and English Department of Trinity College Dublin.

Reviews

Terrific story and the writing is excellent.

Didn't think I'd like the story, but it turned out to be gripping. Abusive husband takes young daughter away from wife and her family. The story centers on the girl and her aunt. Aunt's life is torn apart looking for her missing sister, while the girl grows up, never knowing her maternal roots. It's like a rewritten Shakespearean play. Mythology for modern day.
Captivating

A very enlightening story which is well written and captivating.
Couldn’t put it down.

Really enjoyed this book. It dragged a bit at times. Would love a sequel about Ruby and Neasa. They were both great characters
enjoyed the characters

Very good story. The characters were drawn very well. Very descriptive and engrossing. Definitely would recommend this and her previous work.
Perfection

The writing is impeccable. This was almost the perfect thriller. Just one really tiny niggle - the mention of a character from Blade Runner instead of a description. Otherwise a really perfectly written and paced book. The writing is sublime. It must've taken a lot of effort. No word is wasted. And just the right amount of space for the reader's imagination to fill in the gaps. Really awesome.