Make Strange

Trade Paperback

It began, then, two weeks later, on an orange afternoon. Cool but ruminant; a few days before Halloween. Sunny looked up from the terrarium-sized tub of toys that lived in the living room and asked, 'Mama, do you remember when I died?'

This is the story of a young family, Lena, Odhran and their daughter, Sunny.

Lena, an ex-musician, is learning to enjoy motherhood, but in so doing is learning to let go of her past. Odhran is a very functional and loving father. Four-year-old Sunny, it turns out, believes she has lived previous lives, and is able to recount how she died, on the side of a road, near a puddle of water.

This sets in motion an intense period of anxiety and soul-searching as Lena and Odhran try to understand the root of Sunny's experiences - is she suffering from disassociation, a psychological disorder, or has she truly lived in the past? Friends and family try to help, either by dismissing the claims, or by suggesting various causes. Some vaguely believe Sunny, others are incredulous.

As enrapturing as it is unnerving, Make Strange asks where we might have been, and who we might become. Darkly funny and bee-sting-sharp, this is a family novel tilted on its axis.