This is the story of Martha. Her husband has died suddenly of a heart attack and she has now gone to their holiday cottage in Ireland (Republic of) to sort through her husband's effects. He went to the cottage to write and some of his paperwork is there. The story starts in December and continues through to January. This is also the story of Paddy who owns a small farm next to Martha's cottage. Both their stories are told as they remember things from earlier days - Martha's mainly from her last holiday in the cottage with their son, and Paddy going right back to his childhood, which gives a glimpse of what life was like in Ireland in the past. The novel is mainly written from their point of view, although their lifes do not really intersect. One learns a lot of what life used to be like from Paddy's memories. This is also, to some extent, the story of Colm, a young man who does odd jobs and writes poetry and provides musical entertainment in local pubs, partly with songs he has written himself.. His and Martha's life intersect as he delivers peat and coal for her fireplace and as he knew her late husband. The fourth person in the story is Eugene, a local property developer, who knew Martha's husband and also Martha and who wants the land of Paddy's farm and a part of Martha's land for a hotel development.
This is not a story in which much happens, but it is well written and very atmospheric. It is a story about grief and its aftermath and getting on with life, even if it is not quite what you hoped for..

An intriguing and atmospheric novel set on the coast of Ireland. While I found the author’s writing style to be quite lyrical, I did find the characters to be less well-developed, and would have loved to go a bit deeper with them. That said, the location is a character in itself and is wonderful. Though I feel the ending was a little rushed, the quiet poignancy of how grief affects people is well handled throughout, and gives pause for thought.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Duckworth, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A quiet yet intense novel about grief and self-awareness, well-written with poetical prose and fleshed-out characters.

This is a beautifully written gem. The writing brings the people and the characters to life. I can feel the grief and the pain. This is a memorable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A story of grief - Martha’s grief for her family is central, but we also have a grieving for the old way of life in Ireland in the midst of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years of boom and bust. The latter aspect is characterised by the elderly hill farmer, Paddy, slogging on at his farm and, on the other hand, by prosperous, avaricious, land developer Eugene. I found these characters and the plot generally rather too familiar and unengaging, verging on a rant. The book was redeemed for me by the poetic quality of its descriptions, particularly of the rugged, unforgiving landscape at the edge of Ireland and the spectacular Skellig islands.

I can’t think of any better section to quote as an example of her writing than the short poem, attributed to one of the younger characters and in reality published by Sue Hubbard in one of her collections:

‘how love must be a surrender,
a letting go of the dark grieving
lodged in marrow bone,

and how life is only this moment
at midnight; a guttering candle
and a terrible wind

howling across a strait of wide water
like something lost in the anthracite dark,
beating its way home in the battering rain’.

I’d expected to like this novel more than I did and wonder if her poetry would be more my thing.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review To sue Hubbard and her crew for one of the most amazing books I've read.
Well what can I say I've never read anything from thus author before but was so intriguid by the cover of the skelligs a magical island that is steeped in history.
This gentle soul searching book really is food for the soul this is a book that will stay with me for ever I really can't praise this book enough and will be telling family and friends

I loved Sue Hubbard's Rothko's Red and Depth of Field so I was delighted to receive a copy of her latest novel Rainsongs to review. This beautifully written story is set at the height of the Irish financial boom and deals with grief and the healing of it.

Newly widowed Martha Cassidy visits her husband's home in a deserted village on the west coast of Ireland after a long absence. While sorting through Brendan's possessions and papers Martha recalls family holidays spent with him and their young son, whose death she still mourns. As the unpredictable weather rages Martha has to decide what to do with Brendan's cottage and land which Eugene Riordan, a local developer, eyes covetously alongside other small farms in the area. He wants to build a luxury spa overlooking the dramatic Skelligs which so fascinated Matha's son.

Martha builds a close relationship with Colm, a young musician and poet, who makes her think of the son she lost. I found the culmination of this relationship a distraction and unnecessary. Also, the ending was rather rushed which is why I reluctantly have given 4* instead of 5*. Nevertheless, I do recomend this to readers who love stories about contemporary Ireland.

Rainsongs is so atmospheric that this reader feels she is accompanying Martha every step she takes. Many thanks to NetGalley and Duckworth to read and review it.

A lovely literary novel engrossing emotional set on the coat of Ireland a book that lingers in your mind. #netgalley #preludebooks

A great book. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was a good mix between fact and fiction. I love visiting Ireland especially the Ring of Kerry so can relate to all these places. The characters were interesting never boring .

A wonderfully lyrical walk through the untamed south west coast of Ireland at the daily mercy of the wild unpredictable Atlantic ocean. Martha Cassidy has returned to the cottage that she and her deceased husband Brendan owned and spent many happy years. She is trying to finalize Brendan's affairs before deciding if she wishes to stay or sell the cottage. Through her eyes we meet unscrupulous property dealer Eugene Riordan eager to woo Martha as he is hoping to acquire her property for his future development plans.

Sue Hubbard uses the landscape as a descriptive backdrop to her flowing narrative style...."This is the end of the world with nothing between her and America except the cold sea"....."She's not religious. For her death is the end A soundless dark beyond time and sleep"....."Our lives are so hectic that not to be busy is considered a modern vice, evidence of inadequacy, proof that we're no longer important."......"to find a landscape to fit our dreams and disappointments. When there's nothing left there's still the ocean and the sky"....."Were they too, running from intimacy in order to avoid love's vulnerability"......There are a number of surprises that unfold as we delve deeper into Martha's regretful past, and a new acquaintance that she unexpectedly meets during her stay. Will she decide to remain or return to her old life in London. In the quiet moments of this breathtakingly beautiful location old memories return and with them a great sadness...A very enjoyable read that brought the beautiful location of Southern Ireland to life. Highly recommended.

Melancholy novel set in rural Ireland at the height of the financial boom. Martha has returned to her late husband’s holiday cottage in a remote corner of Ireland for the first time since the death of her beloved only son. As she slowly goes through his things she thinks back over their life together, particularly the events around her son’s death. As a backdrop to this the locals are in conflict over the demise of the harsh old ways of scratching a living on their farms as ridiculously large sums of money are offered to them to give up their heritage and allow the businessmen to use the seemingly endless flow of EU money to build modern tourist traps. Readers will know how badly that ended which adds a certain poignancy to this slow moving tale.

Martha returns to Ireland and reflects on the recent loss of her husband and the death of her 10 year old son twenty years earlier.