The light of Amsterdam - David Park

'Subtle, understated, not without a hint of menace and always courageous ... An important book' Irish Times

'Marvellously compelling ... Park takes that most difficult of subjects - recent history - and with graceful integrity explores the difficulties involved in coming to terms with the legacies of the past ... beautifully described in Park's crystalline prose' Daily Mail

It is December in Belfast, Christmas is approaching and three sets of people are about to make their way to Amsterdam.

Alan, a university art teacher, goes on a pilgrimage to the city of his youth with troubled teenage son Jack; middle-aged couple Marion and Richard take a break from running their garden centre to celebrate Marion's birthday; and Karen, a single mother struggling to make ends meet, joins her daughter's hen party.

As these people brush against each other in the squares, museums and parks of Amsterdam, their lives are transfigured as they encounter the complexities of love in a city that challenges what has gone before.