Bernard MacLaverty Books in Order

These stories follow ordinary people at moments when concealed feelings surface: spouses questioning their marriages, friends confronting intimacy, and children encountering adult grief. Small discoveries unsettle familiar lives, exposing the pull of memory, desire, and regret.

Disturbed by the cruelty of a religious institution for boys, Michael Lamb uses an inheritance to flee with young Owen Kane. Posing as father and son, they seek happiness while dwindling money and the threat of discovery close in.

Children and adults encounter unsettling discoveries in this collection of stories about growing awareness. A truant boy witnesses more than he expects, retired women devise an unusual business, and a music teacher opens a pupil’s understanding of art.

In troubled Northern Ireland, a young Catholic man living in a Protestant neighborhood struggles with work, guilt and his past. His hope of a future with Marcella is shadowed by the violence and fear surrounding them.

Four-year-old Andrew McAndrew wants to help his grandfather, but his curiosity repeatedly leads to small disasters. Eight linked stories follow their affectionate, sometimes exasperating encounters as Grandad repairs the damage and Andrew finds another irresistible task.

These stories follow people at the edges of society as loneliness, disappointment and mortality disrupt ordinary lives. A calligrapher, a musician and a sword-swallower seek connection or consolation in moments that expose both vulnerability and quiet endurance.

These stories explore relationships tested by grief, violence, and unexpected encounters, from a Belfast man abducted while walking his dog to a revealing chess game in Spain. Brief reflections on writing connect the lives and losses portrayed.

Composer Catherine McKenna returns to Belfast for her father’s funeral and confronts the family, religion and political tensions she escaped. Memories of an abusive relationship and the child awaiting her in Glasgow shape her search for renewal through music.

Growing up in late-1960s Belfast, Martin Brennan struggles to make sense of religion, science, sex and friendship. Surrounded by eccentric adults and irreverent schoolmates, he must navigate adolescence while finding a way to pass his crucial exams.

These stories trace fragile human connections under pressure, from a family facing sectarian violence to an encounter during an Iowa blizzard. Private fears and unexpected turns reveal how ordinary relationships can be broken, tested or briefly renewed.

Drawing on life in Ireland and Scotland, these stories follow people confronting love, loss, separation and betrayal. Small encounters and private realizations carry as much weight as major events, revealing the tensions beneath familiar routines and relationships.

Retired couple Gerry and Stella travel to Amsterdam for a winter holiday and a chance to reflect on their lives. Beneath their familiar routines, old memories and conflicting needs expose the distance that has grown between them.

Twelve stories explore grief, aging and endurance through lives unsettled by illness, violence and bereavement. A mother searches wartime footage for her son, while other characters confront uncertain futures and the quiet aftermath of losing someone they love.