8. The Railway Station Man, by Jennifer Johnston

I first discovered Jennifer Johnston when I picked up "Fools Sanctuary" a few years ago and was immediately impressed with her ability to tell a story through her characters. Everything they say or do tells you something about who they are and why. Nothing is wasted, and the story reveals itself to you scene by scene without need for lengthy descriptions or history or explanations. I love the way this allows you to make your own mind up, and the way it relates the political theme of Ireland's Troubles through the personal interactions of her characters.

So I was excited to find The Railway Station Man included in a collection of her work I'd not seen before, and eager to revisit her wild Ireland. I wasn't disappointed. This is set on the west coast of Ireland, and the main character, Helen, is a painter, who has a studio built on a hillside with a glass wall of windows looking out over the ocean, so she can have the view to herself. There is the same intimate, truthful and forgiving attitude to all of her characters that's so rare in politically-themed novels, and in society in general. It sends a powerful message about the needless deaths caused by violence. But it is also a personal story about Helen's struggle with herself to finally become the artist she once dreamed of being before it's too late.

I loved it, and like her other books I can't wait to read it again to discover what I missed the first time.