Two New Stand-Out Novels From Ireland and South Africa

New Irish Novel Release

Louise Kennedy's Stations explores Catholic Church's shadow in Irish society.

“The legacy of the Catholic Church is impossible to ignore in Louise Kennedy’s love story, much like the shadow of apartheid in Keletso Mopai’s ambitious debut.”

Stations Novel Details

Stations: A Novel by Louise Kennedy (Riverhead Books, 288 pp., $28, November 2026).

Ireland's Troubles Context

Set during the Troubles in County Kildare, Ireland, 1982.

Roisin and Red's Story

Roisin McCaffrey, an 'actively unpopular' teenager, befriends Redmond 'Red' Camelin.

“Roisin’s father is an alcoholic who is unable to hold down a job.”

Family Struggles

Roisin's father abandoned family after spending a year in Royal Ulster Constabulary.

“he spent a year in the Royal Ulster Constabulary before moving the family south because he had become "a legitimate target for Republican paramilitaries."”

Red's Family Issues

Red's father's whereabouts unknown; Red runs away from home during secondary school.

“Red runs away from home while in secondary school, preferring to crash on friends' couches than cohabitate with his parents.”

Teenage Relationship

Roisin and Red share a kiss but maintain strictly platonic relationship.

“Red insists that their relationship is strictly platonic.”

London Struggles

Roisin moves to London after dropping out of college to work odd jobs.

“After secondary school, she drops out of college to move to London, crashing in Red’s Pimlico squat and working odd jobs.”

Drug and Health Issues

Roisin cuts ties with Red in late 1980s due to drug use and HIV/Hep C prevalence.

“In the late 1980s, when "Hep C and HIV were rampant", Roisin makes the difficult decision to cut ties with Red.”

2007 Reunion

Roisin finds Red at his father's funeral in 2007 after decade-long search.

“Kennedy leaves a gap between 1989 and 2007, when she finds Roisin again, this time at her father’s funeral.”

Ireland's Catholic Legacy

Ireland's Catholic Church influenced social norms and contraception access until 1996.

“When Roisin tries to get ahold of Plan B in 1985, she tells her father’s British girlfriend that "it’s hard to get contraception in Ireland. Until four months ago, you could only get condoms on prescription." At the time, there was also "no divorce in the Irish Republic." (Ireland legalized divorce in 1996.)”

South African Novel Release

Keletso Mopai's We Belong to the Trees examines land ownership and apartheid legacies.

“Since the apartheid era, one issue has remained at the center of political debates in South Africa: land.”

Land Dispossession Context

Black South Africans owned 13% of land until 1990s; white minority holds 72% today.

“Until the 1990s, Black South Africans could only own land in 13 percent of the country; that decade, Nelson Mandela himself said that "with freedom and democracy, came restoration of the right to land. And with it the opportunity to address the effects of centuries of dispossession and denial." Yet 30 years later, the country’s white minority still hold more 72 percent of its private farmland.”

We Belong to the Trees Plot

Murder mystery in Tzaneen, South Africa, mid-1990s explores land rights and inequality.

“We Belong to the Trees chronicles the mystery surrounding the murder of a young Black security guard at a farm owned by an Afrikaner family.”

Afrikaner Farmer's Perspective

Afrikaner farmer claims land ownership but faces pressure to leave due to land disputes.

“My grandfather owned this farm," he adds. "You know, just because Nelson Mandela is now president they think they own everything in this country."”