Set in the 1890s in Montana we have as wild a west as they come. Tom Rourke, a young Irish immigrant, writes letters and poems for his colleagues but drinks heavily, is hooked on drugs and a bit of a chancer. A love affair starts with Polly Gillespie, a new bride shipped in from the east and soon the pair are headed west on a stolen horse and with stolen money. 

Kevin Barry, as always, writes beautifully allowing the reader to feel genuinely in the heart of the story but this is not always an easy read. It is beautiful, passionate, romantic but also desolate and brutal. Well worth a read. 

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and the publishers for this ARC.