Offcomer - Tapa dura

A quiet but powerful first novel about a young woman called Claire, who is working in a Belfast pub. The story opens with Claire mutilating herself by cutting her ankle. We learn that she is the daughter of a Jewish mother adopted when young by Gentiles, and has no sense of self-worth. We discover more about her life and her friends and lovers, one of whom is the boyfriend of her closest friend, Grainne. Instead of sinking into a pit of despair, Claire gradually finds her own level and a measure of self-esteem. It is a strange, rather sad story, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the writing is very strong. A newcomer to watch.

Set in Lancashire, Oxford and Belfast, Offcomer (Lancashire dialect for an outsider) tells the story of Claire. Claire - in her own words, 'Jewish-ish' - is the daughter of a Jewish mother adopted when young by Gentiles, and a Gentile father. She is a young woman with little self-esteem, little sense of who she is and little in the way of feeling beyond her regular recourse to cutting her ankle with a razor. Offcomer tells Claire's story from Oxford University to Northern Ireland, of her disastrous relationship with a young academic and the emergence of secrets from her mother's past, to her gradual acceptance of herself as she finds a path to some level of self-esteem and self-worth. Offcomer is a truly remarkable debut, a novel of quiet and real power.