Just Jillian blog - From Trespasses to Stations with Louise Kennedy

From Trespasses to Stations with Louise Kennedy

Louise Kennedy’s new novel Stations is set between 1980’s Ireland and London with Roisin and Red captivating the reader’s attention until the final pages are turned. Teenage Roisin, who previously appeared in one of the stories by Louise Kennedy’s short story collection, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac, forges a connection with Red, a boy in her year at school who comes from a much wealthier family than hers. She is a blow-in from the north and finds herself treated with suspicion and as an outsider she does what it takes to be accepted. Red has problems of his own that escalate as the story moves on until he abandons his home town to move to London.

The insecurity and self-absorption of youth is captured so well in both Red and Roisin that the reader becomes invested in the characters and the story. We eagerly follow their scarred relationships, through the ups and downs, the 1980’s London squats and the grim business of scrabbling for enough to survive day by day.

Louise Kennedy has drawn yet again on her own experiences. She herself moved from the North to the South of Ireland in her youth and then lived in London for a time. The descriptions and details are authentic and vivid, drawing out a sense of nostalgia in the reader despite the bleak surroundings the characters find themselves in at times.

After the success of Trespasses, this will be yet another triumph for Louise and has already been, rightly, nominated for multiple awards. My advice would be to hunt down a copy and read it for yourself, well before it inevitably makes it to the screen. Once it does, Roisin and Red will be imprinted on your mind as the actors that play them. Best to read it first so as to imagine them yourself as the author describes them on the page. We were privileged to interview Louise about Stations for the Bookcited! podcast – click here to listen.