The Raptures

Our plot: When several children from the same village start succumbing to a mysterious illness, the quest to discover the cause has devastating and extraordinary consequences.

That’s all I’m giving you. Because I didn’t have much more info going into this one, and it was worth it.

Firstly, I wish I had Carson’s writing skills to articulate my feelings about this book. I simply couldn’t put it down. The concept, which should be upsetting and hard to read, is instead enthralling.

Carson explores a rural community and the cultures clashing within that small community when forced to come together to try and save their children. The way she investigates the tension that comes with different religions and beliefs living side by side is just brilliant. And her ability to inject the “tougher” scenes with moments of humour, as a way to balance the dark, well, I was enraptured (no pun intended).

And I haven’t even begun to discuss the important part that Northern Ireland obviously plays in this story. Set during the Troubles, while not directly linked to what was happening at the time, Carson is able to use this story to explore the complicated nature of people with different beliefs living beside each other and the difficulties these communities have in being able to accept one another.

It’s a brilliant book that reminded me once more that I need to read more work by Northern Irish writers. It’s the second year in a row where a novel from a Northern Irish writer will be in my top reads of the year (Milkman by Anna Burns being one in 2020).

Read this book. You won’t regret it.