Ruth Gilligan’s The Butcher’s Blessing presents a tenuous turning point in the culture of Ireland. A moment of lurching forward momentum caught up in a backswell of tradition that refuses to be quietly abandoned. Those who still hold the old ways dear are faced with being forcefully forgotten. Forsaken for the opportunity offered by the coming twenty-first century. Two families find themselves tugged apart by the personal and societal difficulties brought on by this changing cultural tide. When the conflict reaches its peak through a mysterious act of violence, none of them will be able to remain as they once were. Recommended by Jack