A History of Running Away

Book of the Year in the Irish Times

'A wonderful storyteller' Joseph O'Connor

On the quays of Dublin, Jasmine is running, training for a fight she can't compete in. It's 1982 and boxing is illegal for girls.

For Jasmine boxing is everything: after running away from home, and narrowly escaping a risky situation in London, it is all she has to claim as her own. But with a legal fight impossible, and a ghost from her past on her trail, where can it end?

A History of Running Away is a brilliantly written novel about growing up, starting over and learning to fight for yourself.

“This beautifully written novel is urgently contemporary in its concerns but is also a quietly compelling exploration of the notions of home and belonging. Paula McGrath is a wonderful storyteller with a vivid sense of place and person -- Joseph O'Connor”

This beautifully written novel is urgently contemporary in its concerns but is also a quietly compelling exploration of the notions of home and belonging. Paula McGrath is a wonderful storyteller with a vivid sense of place and person - Joseph O'Connor

Depicts a brutal world with astonishing tenderness and builds a clever, intriguing story, creating memorable characters along the way - Emma Henderson

A thoroughly modern, engaging and sophisticated novel about women who reach for better lives and are forced to run away to achieve them - Liz Nugent

Explores relationships between mothers and their children, and the concept of family as a whole - Irish Country Magazine

McGrath captures Dublin of the 1980s perfectly . . . Ambitious, both structurally and narratively, and elegantly written. McGrath's insights into the mind of Jasmine as she delves deeper into the world of the then-illegal realm of women's boxing are shrewd, and the novel reaches a crescendo of emotion when the various strands connect, in an authentic, credible and ultimately poignant fashion - John Boyne, Irish Times

Elegant . . . Compelling reading - Daily Mail

The writing is fluid and accessible, the dialogue and setting authentic, proving Paula McGrath both a consummate storyteller and an excellent observer of human interactions - Sunday Independent

McGrath writes well and delivers some fine flourishes - Irish Sunday Times

Paula McGrath lives in Dublin. Her first novel, Generation, was published in 2015, and described as 'remarkable' by the Sunday Times. She has a background in English Literature and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Limerick. In another life she was a yoga teacher.

Book of the Year in the Irish Times 'A wonderful storyteller' Joseph O'Connor On the quays of Dublin, Jasmine is running, training for a fight she can't compete in. It's 1982 and boxing is illegal for girls.For Jasmine boxing is everything: after running away from home, and narrowly escaping a risky situation in London, it is all she has to claim as her own. But with a legal fight impossible, and a ghost from her past on her trail, where can it end? A History of Running Away is a brilliantly written novel about growing up, starting over and learning to fight for yourself.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.