{"product_id":"the-first-day-isbn-9781328505767","title":"The First Day","description":"“Fully engaging, well-written, very imaginative . . . A wonderful debut.” —\u003cem\u003e Irish Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “When you read a novel cover to cover in one day, you know it’s something exceptional.” — John Boyne, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Outside an east Belfast mission hall, pastor and family man Samuel Orr meets Anna, a young Beckett scholar. They embark on an intense, passionate affair, their connection both intellectual and erotic. When Anna falls pregnant, the affair is revealed. The repercussions are slow to emerge but inescapable, and the fallout, when it finally comes, is shocking.\u003cbr\u003e             Over thirty years later Sam, their son, is in New York, living a steady, guarded life, his childhood and family safely abandoned. But when the past once more crashes into his life, he is forced to confront the fears he has kept close all these years.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Brilliantly written throughout . . . With tight, dispassionate, superbly controlled prose, Harrison channels the spirit of Don DeLillo or Camus.” —\u003cem\u003e Irish Independent\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Harrison’s elegant prose and deeply felt characters create a novel with a fiercely beating heart.” — \u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Written with burning intensity . . . Powerful.” — \u003cem\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   | \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Filmic in its scope and intensity\u003c\/strong\u003e, spanning 30 years and two continents, \u003cem\u003eThe First Day \u003c\/em\u003eexplores the intersection of faith and sexuality, and casts its Christian characters as intelligent and compelling, not caricatures. I hope we’re in for more from this\u003cstrong\u003e striking new voice\u003c\/strong\u003e in fiction.'  —Jamie Quatro, for \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e   \"Harrison’s debut is a \u003cstrong\u003efully engaging, well-written, very imaginative\u003c\/strong\u003e novel...The early part of the novel is written in \u003cstrong\u003epowerful poetic prose\u003c\/strong\u003e, and with the detailed analysis of emotion, the understanding of how body and mind interact, \u003cstrong\u003estrongly reminiscent of DH Lawrence\u003c\/strong\u003e...A wonderful debut.\"  —\u003cem\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/em\u003e   \"\u003cstrong\u003eBrilliantly written\u003c\/strong\u003e throughout...A truly excellent novel, on all counts...With tight, dispassionate, superbly controlled prose, Harrison channels \u003cstrong\u003ethe spirit of Don DeLillo or Camus\u003c\/strong\u003e...in an unflinching yet compassionate investigation of matters of the human heart and—[like] \u003cstrong\u003eGraham Greene\u003c\/strong\u003e—the heart of the matter.\"  —\u003cem\u003eIrish Independent \u003c\/em\u003e   \"Written with \u003cstrong\u003eburning intensity\u003c\/strong\u003e, this is a \u003cstrong\u003epowerful\u003c\/strong\u003e novel about marriage, passion, anger, and guilt.\"  —\u003cem\u003eDaily Mail \u003c\/em\u003e(UK)   \"Hugely impressive. A finely written tale which is\u003cstrong\u003e original, compulsive, and at times chilling\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"  —\u003cem\u003eIrish Examiner\u003c\/em\u003e   \"Screenwriter Harrison's absorbing debut will surprise readers with its \u003cstrong\u003eingenious plot twists and nuanced characters. Though compared with the work of Albert Camus and D.H. Lawrence, Harrison's cinematic first novel stands on its own\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"  —\u003cem\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e   \"Harrison's elegant prose and deeply felt characters create \u003cstrong\u003ea novel with a fiercely beating heart\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" \u003cem\u003e—Kirkus\u003c\/em\u003e   \"Harrison’s deeply disturbing, morally challenging first novel opens as Samuel Orr, a married Belfast preacher, falls headlong into a love affair with Anna, a young poet and student of Samuel Beckett...The first pages track the beginning of their affair and are an elegiac tribute to love...\u003cstrong\u003eHarrison’s remarkable writing elevates a story that is all the more powerful for its eschewing of easy answers and resolution\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"  —\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/em\u003e   \"Harrison’s first novel is a quiet yet \u003cstrong\u003esuspenseful\u003c\/strong\u003e look at the lasting repercussions of traumatic events...[His] writing is \u003cstrong\u003elyrical and engaging\u003c\/strong\u003e throughout, and he does an excellent job of building tension...\u003cem\u003eThe First Day \u003c\/em\u003eis\u003cstrong\u003e an impressive debut\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" \u003cem\u003e—Booklist \u003c\/em\u003e   \"After years in the wilderness, the past decade has seen a massive upswell of literary talent emerging from Northern Ireland...Harrison\u003cstrong\u003e writes well and brings Belfast and the sectarian conflict vividly to life\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"  —\u003cem\u003eCatholic Herald\u003c\/em\u003e   “When you read a novel cover to cover in one day, you know it's something \u003cstrong\u003eexceptional\u003c\/strong\u003e.”  —John Boyne, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas\u003c\/em\u003e   “\u003cstrong\u003eTerrific\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cem\u003eThe First Day\u003c\/em\u003e is expanding and expanding all the time, like its own model universe…\u003cstrong\u003eMarvelous\u003c\/strong\u003e.”  —Sebastian Barry, author of \u003cem\u003eDays Without End\u003c\/em\u003e, winner of the 2016 Costa Book of the Year     “Crisp, spare, lean and \u003cstrong\u003ecompelling\u003c\/strong\u003e. An auspicious debut.”  —Patrick McCabe, author of Booker shortlisted \u003cem\u003eThe Butcher Boy\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890250903781,"sku":"NP9781328505767","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781328505767.jpg?v=1730232867","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-first-day-isbn-9781328505767","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}