THE IMMERSIVE AND HEARTFELT EXPLORATION OF FAMILY AND LOVE

'A beautiful bittersweet story of love, loss and families. Tears were shed!' GRAHAM NORTON
'A moving and powerful novel' JOHN BOYNE
'Human, graceful and healing, a true gift of a novel' SEBASTIAN BARRY
'A beautiful story' SARAH WINMAN
'Lyrical, optimistic and redemptive' CLARE CHAMBERS
'Just loved it . . . so moving on motherhood, depression, family ties and Ireland' ANNIE MACMANUS
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On an island off the west coast of Ireland, the Moone family gathers.

Maeve is an actor, struggling with her most challenging role yet - as a mother to four children. Murtagh, her devoted husband, is a potter whose craft brought them from the city to this rural life.

In the wake of one fateful night, the Moone siblings must learn the story of who their parents truly are, and what has happened since their first meeting, years before, outside Trinity College in Dublin.

We watch as one love story gives rise to another, until we arrive at a future that none of the Moones could have predicted.

Except perhaps Maeve herself.

The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is a celebration of the complex, flawed and stubbornly optimistic human heart.
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Longlisted for the Guardian's 'Not The Booker' prize

PRAISE FOR THE TRUTH MUST DAZZLE GRADUALLY:

'I devoured this, falling in love with the setting and with every character. It is just glorious. A close-up on the everyday beautiful details that make up love' Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths

'Intensely moving, beautifully written and drenched with Irish atmosphere, this novel asks brave and thoughtful questions about mental health' Daily Mail

'Loved it. Beautiful and original' Sunday Independent

'Cullen is a thoughtful writer and she dissects the stubborn optimism of the human heart with skill and sympathy' Irish Independent

'A perfect combination of deeply-felt tragedy with great hopefulness' Anne Youngson, author of Meet me at the Museum

'Masterfully constructed. A book of rare quality' i Paper

'A beautifully observed saga of abandoned dreams, loss and self-discovery. A fabulous creation' Alan McGonagle, author of Ithaca

'So wonderful on the Irish family and the utter complexity of motherhood, family entanglement and love. I was full on weeping at the end' Elaine Feeney, author of As You Were

A beautiful bittersweet story of love, loss and families all set in the most irresistible of locations. Tears were shed! -- Graham Norton
A moving and powerful novel from one of Ireland's finest new writers -- John Boyne
Such a true gift of a novel, with its sumptuous forward momentum, and rare precision, and inspired imagery. The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually generates a very bright light, one that is human, graceful, and healing. It's an absolute pleasure to read -- Sebastian Barry
Just loved it . . . so moving on motherhood, depression, family ties and Ireland -- Annie Macmanus
A beautiful story. I was gripped and held in a state of love for all the characters -- Sarah Winman, Sunday Times bestselling author of Tin Man
I devoured this, falling in love with the setting and with every character - and when I reached the end, I wept. It is just glorious. A sweeping family safe and, at the same time, a close-up on the everyday beautiful details that make up love -- Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths
We are seduced by the story of the star-crossed lovers * Sunday Times *
Cullen's quietly devastating second novel is both a family saga and a careful exploration of the reality of living with mental health issues * i paper *
A beautiful meditation on family life in Ireland -- Elaine Feeney, Irish Times
An extremely moving read. Handles the complexities of love, grief, family life and mental illness with sensitivity and depth. A truly gorgeous novel. -- Ali Land, author of Good Me, Bad Me

Helen Cullen is an Irish writer living in London. She is the author of The Lost Letters of William Woolf which has been optioned for television. She was shortlisted for Newcomer of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.
To learn more, please visit www.helencullen.ie