Sugartown by Caragh Maxwell

For fans of Sally Rooney and Megan Nolan comes a remarkable debut about a generation struggling to understand the world and their place in it

Saoirse’s life has lost what little direction it once had. Forced to move from London to her small Irish hometown after a bad breakup, she is once more caught up in the family drama she abandoned five years ago. Her mother, Maire, bears no resemblance to the woman who raised her, doting on Saoirse’s three younger sisters and showering them with affection she never showed her eldest child.

As tensions with her mother escalate Saoirse seems to be making all the wrong decisions, until her actions start to mirror those of her father. Saoirse knows she needs to change, but galvanising herself to do so is a whole different issue.

Scalpel-sharp and full of subtle wit, Sugartown is offers striking insights into family, mother/daughter relationships, and what it means to return to a world you thought you’d left behind.

When her life in London goes up in flames, Saoirse returns to her small Irish hometown. Waiting for her there are her mother, her three sisters, and a confrontation for which she is utterly unprepared.

About the Author: Caragh Maxwell is a writer living in Sligo town. She graduated from the Trinity College MPhil in Creative Writing in 2023, and her essays, poems and stories have been published in The Irish Times, The Cormorant and other publications. Her writing focuses on the self, memory, and womanhood. Sugartown is her debut novel.

18 Sep 2025
 

Sugartown by Caragh Maxwell ISBN 9781836431008