The Light at Evening

'Beautiful in everything it says and leaves unsaid. There are no small lives. A bittersweet delight' Gráinne Murphy 'A poignant read full of empathy and a keen awareness of those small rituals that make up a life – visiting a local lake, sharing a cup of tea, writing a poem – it will make you reassess the things you value in the everyday' Nathalie Abi-Ezzi Written in a style reminiscent of Claire Keegan, John McGahern, and Colm Tóibín, The Light at Evening is the story of a man caught between duty and dream, haunted by what was lost and what might still be found. In a quiet corner of rural Ireland, Ciarán lives as an unfulfilled poet and teacher. Struggling with the recent loss of his father, grief settles into his days, intertwined with the quiet responsibility of caring for his ageing mother and supporting his wife as she faces cancer. The world around him continues in its steady rhythms, the seasons shifting, the land holding its silence, while Ciarán turns inward, drifting through memory, regret, and a faint, flickering sense that meaning might still be found. Then, in the stillness between dusk and night, something begins to change. Not redemption, but a gentle illumination, a new way of seeing and the quiet strength of enduring. Tender and lyrical, The Light at Evening is a poignant reflection on grief, on memory and on the fragile moments of grace that shape a life. 'With a poet's attention to detail, McManus creates a visceral experience of Irish country life... Beautifully written and tenderly wrought. A real pleasure to read' Carmel McMahon 'Evoking the meaningful everyday in small town Ireland, while the banter and kindness of Irish life is set against nature’s shifting seasons and existential fears' Mary Kenny 'Captures the extraordinary beauty within ordinary lives in a small Irish town with precision, compassion and utmost authenticity' Tim Hannigan