Old God's Time: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023

Old God’s Time centres on Tom Kettle, a retired policeman and widower, as he tries to settle into a quieter existence in his new home in Dalkey. Living alone and looking out over the sea, he is drawn to a life shaped by routine, solitude and the promise of calm.

That fragile peace is interrupted when two former colleagues arrive with questions about a traumatic case from decades earlier, one Tom has never fully resolved. Soon afterwards, his new neighbour, a mysterious young mother, asks for his help, further unsettling the life he has begun to build. Described as a beautiful, haunting novel in which nothing is quite as it seems, it explores family, loss and love, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023.

Key details

• Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
• Set in Dalkey, with views over the sea
• Follows Tom Kettle, a retired policeman and widower
• Revisits a traumatic case from decades earlier
• Includes a request for help from a new neighbour
• Explores family, loss and love

Synopsis

In Dalkey, Tom Kettle is adjusting to life alone when two former colleagues arrive seeking answers about a traumatic case from long ago. As the past presses in, a request from his new neighbour, a mysterious young mother, further disrupts his hard-won routine. Nothing is quite as it seems in this haunting story of family, loss and love.

Rackhams Reference : 16FYE7QPG8