Soldier Sailor
Ireland

Soldier Sailor

by Claire Kilroy

Summary

A new mother known as Soldier loves her baby son, Sailor, with a fierce intensity—but motherhood has transformed her life in ways she could never have anticipated. Exhausted by sleepless nights, endless childcare, and the relentless demands of caring for a young child, she struggles to recognise the woman she used to be. While her husband continues to work late and pursue his career, Soldier finds herself increasingly isolated, questioning the unequal division of parenting and the disappearance of her own ambitions.

Told as an intimate address to her son, Soldier Sailor captures the contradictions of early motherhood: tenderness and resentment, overwhelming love and desperate frustration, joy and despair. When an encounter with someone from her former life offers a glimpse of the person she once was, Soldier begins to wonder whether she can reclaim part of herself without abandoning the child she adores. With sharp humour and unflinching honesty, Claire Kilroy explores the invisible labour of motherhood and the struggle to preserve one’s identity while caring for another person.

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Claire Kilroy
Claire Kilroy

Claire Kilroy is an Irish novelist who studied at Trinity College Dublin and lives in Dublin. She made her literary debut with All Summer (2003), followed by Tenderwire (2006), All Names Have Been Changed (2009), and The Devil I Know (2012). Her work is known for its psychological insight, distinctive prose, and exploration of ambition, identity, and human relationships. Kilroy received the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2004 and has been shortlisted for several literary awards. After an eleven-year break from publishing novels, she returned with Soldier Sailor in 2023. The novel received widespread critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Its candid portrayal of the emotional intensity and unequal expectations of early motherhood established it as one of her most widely discussed works.

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Published
2023
Author
Claire Kilroy