Confessions

Reviews

‘Confessions is a remarkable debut. A complex and compulsive read that unravels the intricate twists and revelations among three generations of women with elegance and urgency.’ Exciting, expansive and transporting storytelling. It's hard to believe CONFESSIONS is a debut novel Brilliantly conceived and magnificently executed, I truly could not put it down. I haven’t come across as honest, truthful, compelling, and gripping a writer for decades. The work of a debut novelist that feels like the work of a seasoned and highly accomplished author. Confessions is a tender and bitingly original work that effortlessly weaves the parochial weight of Irish family history with the mendacious allure of Manhattan's seedy streets. Catherine Airey reads like a natural successor to Maeve Brennan, a chronicler of the pain and peril of self-determination. ‘An intricately woven epic, Confessions is both intimate and expansive, a novel that teems with raw, hungry life.’ Colin Walsh, author of KALA Confessions is a remarkable debut. With fearless ambition and phenomenal poise, Catherine Airey weaves an intricate and far-reaching tale that is both compelling and heart-breaking I was mesmerized from the very first pages of Catherine Airey's startling debut, Confessions. The story of Maire and Roisin, two Irish sisters living an ocean apart, proceeds with an almost hypnotic power and grace - it has the certainty of fable and the true originality of a powerful new voice in fiction. An absolute triumph One of 2025’s most exciting literary debuts Catherine Airey’s CONFESSIONS is a wonderfully moreish feast of family drama, flowing prose, and psychologically compelling characters. I devoured this remarkable debut that charts the lives of three generations of women and their intense, interior lives. Gracefully plotted with sentences that glide along, it’s a book that rollercoasters with secrets and revelations, exploring love and desire; longing and belonging. Airey’s novel has the complex yet deeply human undertones and poetry of Anne Enright combined with the effortless flow and vim of Louise Kennedy. I absolutely adored this novel and will be reading all future books by this immensely talented author. Expand reviews