Ireland, 1979

The novel is set in Ireland in 1979 during the height of the Troubles, the irregular war between England and Ireland along the Anglo-Irish border. Interspersed throughout the novel's central narrative are transmissions from the skirmishing near the border, and the geohistorical setting of the novel has great bearing on the actions of its characters. The islanders are apprehensive of Lloyd not only because he is an outsider but also because he is English. Meanwhile, Lloyd incorporates the violence into his mural (despite the relative peacefulness of the islanders) and uses the tensions on the mainland as an excuse not to bring James home with him to England.

The island

The novel takes place almost entirely on a remote island off the Irish coast, where Lloyd comes to paint the island's beautiful cliffs. The island is so disconnected from the mainland that the residents there continue to primarily speak...