The Fire Starters by Jan Carson
Set in modern day Belfast, The Fire Starters is a fictional tale with a backdrop of the Troubles.�A series of fires break out across Belfast, stoked by viral videos of a masked man inciting others to start more fires.
And so over a hot July Summer, Belfast becomes a city of tension, smoke and fires. In Belfast, Sammy Agnew is an ex-paramilitary man now married with three kids, who wrestles with his past and worries that the violence that lurks in his blood may have been passed down to his son.
Dr. Jonathan Murray, an unwanted child and now socially awkward man, welcomes his first born daughter into the world, and he too worries that all is not quite right with his child.
This is a beautifully written and absorbing story. The writing style and characters are so authentically Northern Irish that it made me enjoy it even more - sharp and funny, endearing and dark. Jan Carson has captured the simultaneous beauty and unease of Belfast, making it a wonderful character throughout the book.
The Fire Starters is a gritty and compelling tale of life in Northern Ireland, and above all of the love, depth and complications of family relationships, all with a sprinkling of magic at the edges.
Submitted by Oonagh
