All That is Solid Melts into Air

All That is Solid Melts into Air is an exceptionally moving novel of interwoven lives, set amidst one of the most iconic disasters in living memory: Chernobyl. 
 
'Daring, ambitious, epic, moving' Colm Tóibín 
 
Coloured sheets of paper fall from the sky. This is their first indication that something serious has happened. Each sheet bears a message: you have three hours to evacuate, bring only one suitcase. From their balconies they can see a dark column of smoke rising above the nuclear plant. For the people of Pripyat, these are the last moments they will spend in their homes. For a child piano prodigy, a dissident factory worker, a broken-hearted surgeon and unknowing others, this disaster will change their lives forever . . . 
 
'Shocking, vivid . . . sweeps with epic confidence across lives' Sunday Independent 
 
'Astonishing . . . A page-turner' Irish Times 
 
'A stunning debut' Guardian

This daring and ambitious novel blends historical epic and love story with a moving description of the Chernobyl disaster and the fall of the Soviet Union. A book rich with resonance far beyond its historical moment

Brilliantly imagined, exhilarating in its sweep; McKeon creates a thrilling appearance of ease, while he delves deep and forges new territory for the contemporary novel. Daring, generous and beautifully written, All That is Solid Melts into Air marks the beginning of a truly significant career. I cannot say it loud enough: McKeon is here to stay

Powerful and moving ... a supremely accomplished social novel ... What makes McKeon's vision so compelling is that the system this novel describes is not merely Russian, nor communist, but universal

His description of the explosion at the Ukrainian nuclear plant is a stylistic high point ... recalls Don DeLillo's Underworld ... disturbing ... convincing ... a tense denouement

An outstanding debut novel ... portraying inconceivable horrors and acts of incredible beauty in luminously understated prose ... McKeon makes us care ... skilfully drawing us into their worlds before and after the explosion ... devastating

A book to be devoured, tragic and funny and sad and beautiful and sensual and shocking and, ultimately, utterly transcendent ... crackles with the whip-smart propulsion of a thriller, while immersing its reader in the rich inner turmoils of its characters

Fascinating, with ... the ferocious grip of a rollercoaster thriller ... this book is beautifully written ... generous with elegantly turned phrases ... Skilfully crafted, thoughtful, poetic, well-judged ... [a] flawless pearl

Darragh McKeon was born in 1979 and grew up in the midlands of Ireland. He has worked as a theatre director, and his writing has been shortlisted for the Francis McManus Short Story Award and the Filmbase/RTE Short Film Award. This is his first novel.

Moscow, 1986. In a run-down apartment block, a piano prodigy practices silently to avoid disturbing the neighbours. In a factory, his aunt makes car parts, hiding her dissident past. In the hospital, a talented surgeon buries himself in his work. And in a village in Ukraine, a boy wakes up to a sky of deepest crimson. In the fields, the cattle's ears are dripping blood. Ten miles away, at the Chernobyl Power Plant, something unimaginable has happened. Now their lives will change forever. 
 
All That Is Solid Melts Into Air is an electrifying novel about extraordinary lives in remarkable times.

Darragh McKeon

McKeon&rsquo;s writing is sensitive, elusive and philosophical, and pursues an elusive truth at the heart of the Troubles.&rsquo;

Deeply felt and delicate, Remembrance Sunday is a timely evocation of the havoc the Troubles wreaked, not just on the street, but on the soul

McKeon animates a story out of the North's recent history with much skill and empathy. Complicating the commonplace, attempting to make sense of the senseless, the novel is an impressive and moving act of imagination and remembrance

A stunning achievement. I was completely gripped by it and awed at the sublime skill and beauty of its execution. Darragh has created a work of art of immediate relevance and enduring importance

A beautifully wrought, startlingly perceptive, stealthily gripping novel about the pain of understanding ourselves and the agony of trying to understand history. It moves masterfully between the forensic and the lyrical, the meditative and the dramatic, the personal and the political

'Darragh McKeon's Remembrance Sunday is a quiet work of art that explores the complexity of trauma in the wake of the Enniskellen bombing. McKeon's writing is sensitive, elusive and philosophical, and pursues an elusive truth at the heart of the Troubles.'

'Thought-provoking ... strong second novel'

'A poignant, delicately composed novel that doesn't stint on the wreckage of violence.'

McKeon ... is a writer to watch. He conveys how people who cause harm can sometimes be victims, in their own way, and that takes skill. If you enjoy Colum Mcann's work, this novel is for you.'

'... beautifully written, placed in those grey shadows between right and wrong and profound, terrible loss.'

A beautifully crafted story about the legacy of trauma

'Exceptional ... The imaginative storytelling and fine prose of Remembrance Sunday puts McKeon in the big leagues' Irish Times 
 
'A supreme storyteller' Sunday Times 
 
'Impressive ... A poignant, delicately composed novel that doesn't stint on the wreckage of violence' Daily Mail 
 
Chinatown, New York. After a chance encounter with an old friend, Simon Hanlon, an Irish architect, experiences a seizure, his first in almost thirty years. Soon, they come to him daily. 
 
As he awaits a brain operation, Simon turns his mind back to his childhood on a farm near the Irish border. At fifteen, he was present when an IRA bomb exploded at the Remembrance Sunday parade in Enniskillen. It was in the following weeks that his seizures first began. Now, he is compelled to seek out the bomber from the remnants of his past, and to ask himself the question: why do we harm one another? Remembrance Sunday is a moving and unforgettable novel about love, empathy and the ways in which history imprints itself upon our hearts and minds.

Darragh McKeon

Praise for Remembrance Sunday

McKeon’s writing is sensitive, elusive and philosophical, and pursues an elusive truth at the heart of the Troubles.’

Deeply felt and delicate, Remembrance Sunday is a timely evocation of the havoc the Troubles wreaked, not just on the street, but on the soul

McKeon animates a story out of the North's recent history with much skill and empathy. Complicating the commonplace, attempting to make sense of the senseless, the novel is an impressive and moving act of imaginatio ...

McKeon’s writing is sensitive, elusive and philosophical, and pursues an elusive truth at the heart of the Troubles.’

Deeply felt and delicate, Remembrance Sunday is a timely evocation of the havoc the Troubles wreaked, not just on the street, but on the soul

McKeon animates a story out of the North's recent history with much skill and empathy. Complicating the commonplace, attempting to make sense of the senseless, the novel is an impressive and moving act of imaginatio ...

McKeon’s writing is sensitive, elusive and philosophical, and pursues an elusive truth at the heart of the Troubles.’

Deeply felt and delicate, Remembrance Sunday is a timely evocation of the havoc the Troubles wreaked, not just on the street, but on the soul

McKeon animates a story out of the North's recent history with much skill and empathy. Complicating the commonplace, attempting to make sense of the senseless, the novel is an impressive and moving act of imaginatio ...

Books by Darragh McKeon

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