Review of Sheila Armstrong's 'The Red Mouth'

The Red Mouth by Sheila Armstrong review – profound exploration of Ireland’s deep time

Sinister bogland discoveries haunt the intersecting lives of four characters in this meditative, exquisitely written tale Almost 14% of Ireland is bog: vast swathes of moss-carpeted land, below which layers of ancient history have been compounded into mulch-black turf. Captivated by their otherworldly beauty, Seamus Heaney wrote some of his finest poetry about bogs – and the bodies discovered, perfectly preserved, in their eerie depths. Sheila Armstrong’s exquisite second novel, The Red Mouth...

By Ruth Gilligan