“A memoir-vivid portrait of a vertiginous affair” ( Vogue ) for readers of Jenny Offill, Garth Greenwell, and Anne Enright, an unforgettable novel about a young American expat who settles in Ireland, marries, and lives through the consequences of an affair—by “an extravagantly gifted writer” (Rachel Cusk). In this “humane and lucid novel” ( The New York Times ), Alice, a young American, arrives in the West of Ireland with no plans and no strong attachments. She meets and falls in love with an Irishman, quickly marries him, and settles down in a place whose customs are unfamiliar. And then, in the course of a single hot summer, she embarks on an affair that breaks her marriage and sets her life on a new course. Years later, in the immediate aftermath of her beloved mother’s death, Alice, having worked in war zones around the world, finds herself back in Ireland, contemplating the forces that led her to put down roots and then tear them up again. What drew her to her husband, and what pulled her away? Was her husband strangely complicit in the affair? Was she always under surveillance by friends and neighbors who knew more than they let on? “Short, intense, and emotionally precise” ( Star Tribune , Minneapolis), Straying is at once a “ferociously well written” ( The Guardian ) account of passion and ambivalence and an exquisite rumination on the things that matter most. “Molly McCloskey . . . brings a hyper-lucid wistfulness to [ Straying ]. . . . A wise, discomfiting novel.” – The New York Times Book Review "A memoir-vivid portrait of a vertiginous affair." — Vogue "Short, intense and emotionally precise ... Such is McCloskey’s powerful control of the novel and meticulous, economical observations, that in little more than 200 pages she can show the exact nature of a life not wasted, but not fully inhabited — Alice ends up with no settled home as an aid worker for refugees — as well as the character of one marriage, of an affair and, not least, of the transformation of Ireland herself." —Minneapolis Star Tribune "This dual citizen of Ireland and America doesn’t simply decode cultural mores, or love, or the way grief unfurls over decades. She translates those abstractions into a language all can understand, and in so doing turns her readers into code-breakers of the heart." — Florida Times-Union "This slow-burning novel . . . is a moving meditation on rootlessness and love. . . . McCloskey is a keen, sympathetic observer; her tight, controlled prose meticulously details Alice’s honest consideration of her flaws and desires. The melancholic complexity of Alice’s very human struggle carries this elegant novel with no easy answers." — Publishers Weekly "McCloskey excels ... Elegant prose and nuanced self-awareness, reminiscent of early Edna O'Brien, enhance this intensely focused story of memory and self-imposed loss." — Kirkus Reviews "Moving and propulsive ... Perfect for fans of deep-dive character studies in strong, moody settings." —Booklist “In Straying , Molly McCloskey gives us the moving portrait of a young woman adrift through a troubled world and in her own heart. Discovering that the unknowable desires and passions that move her are somehow related to those that drive people to war and conflict, she, and the reader, move closer to a difficult wisdom.” —Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer "Straying is a powerful and deeply affecting novel in which the psychology of love and the anatomy of adultery are forensically examined. In writing that sparkles with intelligence and insight the ordinary moments of everyday existence are charged with a beauty and tenderness that render them only just bearable. It is a profound reflection on love, loss, mortality and how certain people in our lives – lovers, mothers, friends – alter us, as we slowly, painfully, try to beget our better selves." —Mary Costello, author of Academy Street and The China Factory “ Straying is as gripping as a memoir and as intimate as a poem. Molly McCloskey has written a novel that is both urgent and reflective, a tender and unsentimental exploration of love’s dark corners. It is brilliant: her finest book yet.” —Anne Enright, author of The Green Road “This is a short but powerful novel about love—love for a mother, love for a husband, love for a lover. The narrator knows her feelings but not quite her desires; she is passionate, wonderfully attentive but confused. Stray ing will be read for many years to come for its wisdom and precision.” —Edmund White “I loved Straying . It is absorbing, tense, and beautifully written. Molly McCloskey has written a wonderful novel.” —Roddy Doyle "McCloskey describes everything with a luminous exactitude ... It’s entirely beguiling." — Irish Daily Mail “Molly McCloskey’s prose has such immense authority, precision and seriousness, and her storytelling is powered by an exquisite sense of writerly tact as much as by the abi