Sebastian Barry, “Days Without End“

Barry’s ninth novel, long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, is a love story, an immigrant story, and a tale of the Irish in the Wild West. The narrative follows Thomas McNulty as he flees famine-ridden Sligo for America. Like many new arrivals, he’s conscripted right off the boat and while in the army meets his true love, John Cole. Keeping pace with American history, the pair fight Native Americans in Missouri, take part in the Civil War, and are held in the notorious Andersonville military prison. But they also perform in minstrel shows, often dressed as women, and adopt a Native-American girl. Told with spirit and compassion, Barry’s impeccably researched and vividly dramatized book won the Costa Award, making him the only writer to have won it twice. Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.’s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in r