Nights Beneath the Nation Paperback – 4 Sept. 2008

Kehoe writes this engaging tale of long-buried secrets with poetic flair. ― Gay Times Published On: 2008-08-01

Vivid... a bold and confident debut... This heartfelt tale of love, loss and the possibilities of redemption marks out Denis Kehoe to be a very promising writer indeed ― Attitude

This is a remarkable, sharply observed and engaging book which deserves to be well received. Although most of the central characters are gay it is not a gay novel nor indeed even a book about being gay; it is a book about being alive and being human in Ireland from the 1950s to the present day... the very period is caught in an extraordinary feat of creative memory... Part mystery, part love story this remarkable first novel has for me echoes of that wonderful Spanish novel Shadow of the Wind. I lived through most of the period described in this book and I can attest to its authenticity - that's exactly how it was. Read - and grieve - and celebrate. -- David Norris ― Irish Independent Published On: 2008-09-06

A welcome debut from a new voice is Nights Beneath the Nation in which Daniel returns from America to the city he left in disgrace 40 years before, pursued by the ghosts of his past in Fifties Dublin. -- Alison Walsh ― Irish Independent on Sunday Published On: 2008-09-07

Kehoe captures every nuance of a soul in torment...This is the story of a love doomed by social mores. Kehoe paints a shocking and oftern lurid portrayal of the days when lives were ruined by the subterfuge and hypocrisy that was once the lot of the homosexual community. -- Ros Drinkwater ― Sunday Business Post Published On: 2008-09-21

This passionately written novel offers a bruised account of repression and loneliness, tempered by flickering instants of beauty and compassion. In places Kehoe writes like a dream, subtle rhymes and nuances drawing the reader towards a latent vein of mystery and eroticism. Complex and spellbinding, it's a book that intuitively fuses history and imagination and that's rare. -- Tom Boncza-Tomaszewski ― Independent on Sunday Published On: 2008-11-02

Kehoe has managed to capture fifties Dublin to a tee... The themes of coming out and exile from Ireland are by no means new, but Kehoe handles both with subtlety. This book moves at a cracking pace. It is a taut story, well told by a promising new literary talent. -- Patrick Newley ― The Stage Published On: 2008-08-28

Denis Kehoe was born in Dublin in 1978, where he now lives. He studied philosophy and European culture, literature and thought. He teaches film studies, media and English. Walking on Dry Land is published by Serpent's Tail.