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, [<i>The Home Scar</i>] 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, <i>The Home Scar</i> 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,
<i>The Home Scar</i> 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