Trespasses Review

Trespasses, by Louise Kennedy, centers on Cushla, a young, Catholic woman living on the outskirts of Belfast with her alcoholic mother. As a primary teacher by day and bartender by night, she is intimately familiar with the effect of the Troubles in Ireland. The Troubles, also known as the Northern Ireland conflict, began in the 1960s and ran through 1998. Despite the religious divide, this was a political conflict between loyalists (mainly Protestant) who wanted Northern Ireland to remain in the UK and republicans (mostly Catholic) who tried to leave the UK and join the rest of Ireland as a united nation. Violent protests, rebellions, and attacks were common during this time. Trespasses shows Cushla’s life with the Troubles mainly in the background, but always looming over her.

She forms a close relationship with one of her bullied students with a shaky home life, Davy. After his father is caught in a violent attack leaving him in the hospital, she accompanies him home and grows close with the struggling family. At the same time, she struggles to properly connect with her mother, Gina, due to her alcoholism. Her brother, Eammon, owns the bar and doesn’t get involved with their mother’s issues. One night, while working at the bar, Cushla meets Michael Agnew, a married, Protestant barrister who used to know her passed father. Through quiet flirtations and subtle meet-ups, Cushla begins an affair with Michael.

Kennedy starts many chapters with ‘Monday News’, where the children share new information about their community. The information is anywhere from a new dress to a new bombing. Although the conflict seems to be a backdrop to Cushla’s life, every aspect of the political turmoil is weaved throughout her story. Her relationship with Michael only thrives because of their avoidance of the topic, but his friends don’t shy away from underhanded comments and Michael can’t detach himself from his work with IRA members as a barrister. On an outing with one of her coworkers, they’re stopped by British soldiers. She sits in the car and watches as they drag him out and poke at him with their guns, taunting and teasing him before he’s released back to the car, humiliated and exhausted. Even young Davy, her student, is reminded of the conflict any time he sees his father’s bruised and battered figure. His older brother drops out of school and falls in with a bad batch of kids, rebelling in the face of political unrest.

Trespasses effortlessly weaves beautiful storytelling with a tragic history and leaves you with a heartbreaking ending that has you tracing Cushla’s steps along with her, wondering where it all went wrong. Each and every character Cushla speaks to is in some way tied to the Troubles and has their own perspective, whether it's violence, silence, or peace. Trespasses is a wonderful novel that leaves you with a dull ache in your chest and tears in your eyes.

Written by Nitya