On the Town: There's no message in Grace and Truth, said writer Jennifer Johnston simply, of her 14th book. "I don't believe in messages. It's about a woman who discovers her grandfather is her father," she added, not attempting to keep the plot details secret. The book "is something that's been in my mind for a long time".
"An awful lot of the time, I hate it," she said about the job of writing. "Occasionally, I enjoy it."
The power of Johnston's writing was discussed by a number of those who went along to celebrate the book's publication in a Dublin bookshop this week.
"She tells the story of all our families - the secrets, lies, the shame, the grace, the deceptions and betrayals - and she tells them beautifully," said actor Fionnula Flanagan, who is currently to be seen in the film, Transamerica, which won the audience award at the International Berlin Film Festival recently.
"I love the clarity of her writing and her insight into relationships . . . it's so deep, it's family stuff," said director Caroline Fitzgerald, of Gallowglass Theatre Company, who is about to begin directing The Sanctuary Lamp, by Tom Murphy, in Clonmel. The production will then go on a nationwide tour, Fitzgerald said.
John Fairleigh, director of the Stewart Parker Trust and also of the Ireland Romania Cultural Foundation, to whom the book is dedicated, was among those who attended the publication party.
Eamon Delaney, editor of Magill magazine, was also at the launch. He will be attending an art exhibition called SOS in Dublin's Custom House Square next week, he said. The show is a collection of work by artists working in the docklands area. SOS stands for "save our studios", said Delaney, and among the artists is his sister, Catherine.
Others at the launch included Breda Purdue, managing director of Hodder Headline Ireland; Mary Colley, a researcher and long-time friend of Johnston's; and Sarah Smyth, Johnston's daughter, who is head of TCD's Russian department.