The Home Scar

A powerful story about legacy and loss and the possibility of reconciliation * Irish Times *
Her beautifully simple style belies psychological complexity . . . and her tone is wryly accepting * Big Issue *
Quiet and bleakly beautiful . . . like the siblings and Ireland, it will leave a permanent mark on those who venture into its depths * Buzz *
Picks at the wounds only a mother can inflict . . . ambitious . . . intricate * Sunday Independent *
An exceptional novel about a brother and sister returning to the west of Ireland and to a summer of their past. -- Anne Griffin * Sunday Independent *
MacMahon writes with such beautiful simplicity, conjuring real and complex people straight off the page . . . subtle and authentic -- Claire Fuller
Thoughtful, understated . . . it has a quiet power * Irish Independent *
Wonderful -- Brendan O'Connor * RTÉ *
A gorgeous story of sibling love. It reads like a psychological adventure story into memory -- Louise Nealon
A spell-binding story of inherited grief and the unbreakable bond between siblings as they unpick memories of their shared past . . . [MacMahon's] characters feel authentic and relatable for all their flaws -- Aingeala Flannery
Such a treat . . . another stunner from Kathleen MacMahon -- Henrietta McKervey
With her usual effortless writing style and ability to make characters pop off the page, [The Home Scar] is a moving read * Woman's Way *
An intriguing, meticulous and generation-spanning story of love, loss and healing -- Ed O'Loughlin
Kathleen MacMahon's subject is memory itself: how we remember - and the impact upon our future lives when our memories deceive us. Compassionate and poignant, The Home Scar is a work of considerable moral power -- Neil Hegarty
A very grown-up novel about life and love, of course, and above all, the repercussions of a disrupted childhood . . . a real tour de force -- Christine Dwyer Hickey
The Home Scar once again displays Kathleen MacMahon's gimlet-eyed understanding of grown-up frailty -- Hilary Fannin
A delight - I loved every word of it -- Catherine Dunne
An understated, powerful read. * Irish Examiner *
[MacMahon's] exploration of connection, to each other and the ones we've lost, is . . . sensitively done and wrapped in the rich storytelling that has made her a notable name in Irish literature * RTÉ Guide *
A love story to the west of Ireland as much as it is a family mystery, this beautifully written novel will entrance anyone who has memories of childhood holidays spent in the area. -- Liadán Hynes * Sunday Independent *
MacMahon's fourth novel ... is another eloquently written and elegantly shaped novel that lays bare those scars that many of us carry and cover. * RTÉ Guide *
An exceptional novel by one of Ireland's foremost literary talents. A book not to be missed -- Anne Griffin
One of Ireland's finest twenty-first century writers * Margaret Madden *