Melody for Nora: One Girl's Story in the Civil War

Mark O'Sullivan is one of ireland's most highly regarded writers for young people. This, his first book, was the very first winner of the prestigious Eilis Dillon Memorial Award for children's literature. Melody for Nora uses a strong, well-told story to bring alive the often-confusing complexities of Civil War Ireland in a manner rarely seen. The book is very much about people, and the people are interesting and lifelike. But at the same time the book shows the ironies and tragedies inherent in any civil war, with conflicting loyalties and the ghosts of past actions haunting the participants.Mark O'Sullivan has gone on to write further good books, and his reputation continues to grow, but Melody for Nora remains one of his strongest works. Few first novels are as professionally done, and even fewer as readable. The book, set during a terrible time in Ireland's history, will be one for the history books itself, since it marked the emergence of a major irish writer.