Authenticity

When painter Roderic Kennedy meets Julia Fitzpatrick, twenty years younger and also an artist, it seems as though a long spell of turbulence and misfortune in his life - including alcoholism and a broken marriage - has finally come to an end. But when Julia has a chance meeting with a desperately unhappy stranger, this brief yet powerful encounter sets in motion a chain of events that has dramatic consequences for all three. Set in Ireland, Authenticity is a mesmerizing exploration of living the creative life as well as the cost of neglecting it. With a seamless tapestry of voices in various forms - self-reflection, memory, conversations - Madden offers a remarkable and moving novel that reaches from the bottom of the soul to the moment of inspiration.