Henry Stanfield, the newly arrived Truth Commissioner, is troubled by his estrangement from his daughter, and struggling with the consequences of his infidelities. Francis Gilroy, veteran Republican and recently appointed government minister, risks losing what feels tantalisingly close to his grasp. In America, Danny and his partner plan for the arrival of their first child, happily oblivious to what is about to pull him back to Belfast and rupture the life they have started together. Retired detective James Fenton, on his way to an orphanage in Romania with a van full of supplies, will soon be forced to confront what he has come to think of as his betrayal, years before, of a teenage boy. In a society trying to heal the scars of the past with the salve of truth and reconciliation, four men's lives become linked in a way they could never have imagined. In a community where truth is often tribal and partial, the secret they share threatens to destroy what they have each built in the present. David Park pieces together these individual stories to create a powerful tale that transcends both time and place. Moving, insightful and utterly involving, The Truth Commissioner is an important novel from one of Ireland's greatest writers.
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'It's a magnificent novel and I can't stop thinking about it.'
-- Joseph O'Connor
-- Joseph O'Connor
About the Author
David Park has written six books, most recently the hugely acclaimed Swallowing the Sun. He was the winner of the Authors' Club First Novel Award, the Bass Ireland Arts Award for Literature and a twice winner of the University of Ulster's McCrea Literary Award. He lives in County Down, Northern Ireland with his wife and two children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Amy033
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A truly excellent book.
A fictional Truth Commission is set up to examine Northern Ireland's troubled past. It is headed up by a particularly unsavoury character whose main aim is to get the job done, get out of Northern Ireland and then reap any benefits which may come his way. A retired RUC officer, a government minister with an IRA past and a young man living in America all have links to a missing boy who vanished during the height of the Troubles. Each character has attempted to put their past behind them and create a new life. However, the formation of the Truth Commission means they are now called to account for the past; a past which they had hoped had vanished also. Each character is shadowed by guilt, fear, self-justification or the need for atonement to a greater or lesser degree. Will the stirring of the waters bring freedom from a terrible past or simply a muddying of the waters? This book provokes many questions and not just in the context of Northern Ireland; you need no knowledge of or interest in the place to be dazzled by this book.
All of David Park's books are brilliant and thought-provoking. There is a simplicity in his style of writing that belies the power behind his work.
A fictional Truth Commission is set up to examine Northern Ireland's troubled past. It is headed up by a particularly unsavoury character whose main aim is to get the job done, get out of Northern Ireland and then reap any benefits which may come his way. A retired RUC officer, a government minister with an IRA past and a young man living in America all have links to a missing boy who vanished during the height of the Troubles. Each character has attempted to put their past behind them and create a new life. However, the formation of the Truth Commission means they are now called to account for the past; a past which they had hoped had vanished also. Each character is shadowed by guilt, fear, self-justification or the need for atonement to a greater or lesser degree. Will the stirring of the waters bring freedom from a terrible past or simply a muddying of the waters? This book provokes many questions and not just in the context of Northern Ireland; you need no knowledge of or interest in the place to be dazzled by this book.
All of David Park's books are brilliant and thought-provoking. There is a simplicity in his style of writing that belies the power behind his work.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book of this time, examining the place of truth as Northern Ireland deals with its past
12 Feb 2008
By Alan Meban
Format:Hardcover
David Park has struck it lucky. Northern Ireland is sitting at the painted give way line waiting to drive out onto the roundabout of dealing with our past. Yet everyone is wondering what exit to take, what road we should journey down to try to uncover the truth behind events in the conflict. It's a good moment to be reading David Park's latest novel The Truth Commissioner as it rehearses one of the possible ways forward.
After learning about the four main characters, the book enters it's well-paced final section where the best laid plans in the truth process come unstuck. So many fragments of Northern Ireland's past: informers, the Disappeared, bugging, securocrats.
The book asks questions about truth. What it is? And at what price? It's a great book. A book of this time and of this place, Northern Ireland. Well worth reading for the story, as well as the ideas that will encountered in society at large over the next couple of years.
After learning about the four main characters, the book enters it's well-paced final section where the best laid plans in the truth process come unstuck. So many fragments of Northern Ireland's past: informers, the Disappeared, bugging, securocrats.
The book asks questions about truth. What it is? And at what price? It's a great book. A book of this time and of this place, Northern Ireland. Well worth reading for the story, as well as the ideas that will encountered in society at large over the next couple of years.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By P. Morrison
Format:Hardcover
I enjoyed reading this book. It is really well written, with believable characters and makes important and perceptive points about the human impact of the move from conflict to peace in Northern Ireland. So why only 3 stars?
In part it is that it just felt too short. Once I had got to know the protagonists there seemed to be a sudden rush towards the end of the book, with the slow satisfying development of character in the first half overtaken by an apparent rush to tie up the plot ends.
As a result it just has not lingered in my mind in the way I thought it would when I was reading it.
In part it is that it just felt too short. Once I had got to know the protagonists there seemed to be a sudden rush towards the end of the book, with the slow satisfying development of character in the first half overtaken by an apparent rush to tie up the plot ends.
As a result it just has not lingered in my mind in the way I thought it would when I was reading it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Truth Commissioner
I found this a very disjointed and long-winded book to read. For the first half of the book I was constantly trying to link the characters together and make sense of the... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Andynat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful prose and a compelling plot
I loved this novel. Park 's prose is both taut and poetic, yet this is not an exercise in language for its own sake. The plot follows a number of characters in their journeys. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Myrna Mynkoff
5.0 out of 5 stars
At last, a truthful novel about Northern Ireland
A deeply truthful novel on all levels. This literary and literate novel is written with humanity and compassion and ought to have been more widely publicised and read. Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2010 by La Bella Roma
5.0 out of 5 stars
A subtle, human novel
David Park is a much underrated writer, and it was no surprise to see The Truth Commissioner passed over by the Booker Committee. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2008 by MisterHobgoblin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Somehow slightly unsatisfying
Don't get me wrong. It's a very good book, but I wanted another ten pages to expand on the ending, which was rushed and chaotic, a reflection of the way the book ends. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2008 by Ms. M. Moules
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