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Tender

By Belinda McKeon
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Brief Description
Gripping, completely compelling . . . a sublime talent - Donal Ryan Captures what it is like to be young in Dublin with grace, subtlety and sympathy - Colm Tóibín Catherine and James are as close as two friends could ever be. Witty, talented, and charming,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2800
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The astonishing, lyrical and ambitious second novel by the winner of the Irish Book of the Year Award.

The astonishing, lyrical and ambitious second novel by the winner of the Irish Book of the Year Award Now part of the Picador Collection

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Gripping, completely compelling . . . a sublime talent - Donal Ryan

Captures what it is like to be young in Dublin with grace, subtlety and sympathy - Colm Tóibín

Catherine and James are as close as two friends could ever be. Witty, talented, and charming, James is unlike anyone Catherine has encountered before, and she finds herself hungry to explore with him all that Dublin in the '90s has to offer - even as James struggles to find his place in it.

But as their connection intensifies, Catherine discovers that there's a fine line between longing and love, friendship and obsession . . .

From the author of the multi-award-winning debut Solace, Tender is a dazzling exploration of the complexities of human relationships, a novel about friendship and youth, about selfhood and sexuality, about the lies we tell ourselves and the lies we are taught to tell.

A superb and sophisticated writer - The Times

Richly nuanced and utterly absorbing - The Guardian

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035086696

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 November 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Picador

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 133.0mm

Height: 199.0mm

Weight: 318g

Pages: 448

Collections

Belinda McKeon Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Belinda McKeon's first novel, Solace, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Sunday Independent Best Newcomer Award and was named Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book of the Year in 2011, as well as being shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Her essays and journalism have appeared in the New York Times, the Paris Review, the Guardian and elsewhere. She grew up in rural Ireland and now lives in New York, where she teaches at Rutgers University. Tender is her second novel.

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  • Solace
    A wonderful novel. I was deeply moved. Outstanding - John Boyne Mark Casey did not expect to fall in love. But from the minute he saw Joanne Lynch across the garden of a Dublin pub, it seemed that nothing else was possible. But Mark is also drawn back - guiltily - to his family and the land they have farmed...
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  • Tender
    Tender
    Tender charts the marshy territory of friendship, obsession, and love, and offers no easy path. . . richly nuanced and utterly absorbing. Guardian "Are you asleep?" James said, nudging her with his leg. "No," Catherine said, the word all in a drowse. "Don't go to sleep," he said, and she heard him turn a page. Catherine and James are as...
    By Belinda McKeon
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