Book review: The Offering

Madeline’s life is torn apart on her 14th birthday. Having moved to an island with her overbearing, God-fearing father and submissive mother, Madeline spends her days searching for God and playing with her dog. 

The Offering

Grace McCleen

Sceptre, €20.50;

ebook, €11.99

She confuses the development of a teenage girl with her search, mixing up the real and the imagined. Mundane events become confused with events in the bible. But her birthday celebrations are laid waste by something cataclysmic.

Having taken refuge in a mental infirmary, Madeline is presented with an enigmatic young psychiatrist, who attempts to unravel the mystery of her troubled mind. Little does he know his gentle probings will have a shattering effect.

Grace McCleen is the critically acclaimed author of the award-winning offerings The Land Of Decoration and The Professor of Poetry.

With praise from Hilary Mantel and AS Byatt, there’s every reason to believe McCleen will remain a fixture of the literary intelligentsia for years to come.