Dublin Literary Award 2020

Set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Milkman follows a young woman navigating surveillance, rumour, and unspoken threat. Burns’ distinctive, looping prose captures the suffocating atmosphere of a community under constant watch. Names are withheld, heightening paranoia and abstraction. The novel blends dark humour with political menace. Individual autonomy is repeatedly eroded by collective fear. A formally daring and deeply unsettling work.

Blending memoir and fiction, Disoriental follows an Iranian woman reflecting on exile, identity, and political upheaval. The narrative moves freely across time and geography. Djavadi balances humour with trauma. Cultural inheritance is both burden and anchor. The prose is energetic and candid. A vivid exploration of displacement and self-definition.

After the suicide of a close friend, the narrator inherits his Great Dane. The novel blends grief, philosophy, and quiet humour. Nunez reflects on friendship, writing, and loss. The dog becomes both companion and burden. The tone is intimate and meditative. A gentle, profound exploration of mourning.

This darkly playful novel follows an eccentric woman investigating mysterious deaths in a remote Polish village. Blending crime, philosophy, and ecological critique, Tokarczuk subverts genre expectations. The narrator is unreliable but compelling. Moral certainty is constantly questioned. Nature is both witness and judge. Witty, unsettling, and provocative.

This novel traces the life of a woman who abandons her family to pursue art and freedom. Set against the backdrop of colonial India and the Second World War, it examines motherhood, independence, and sacrifice. Roy’s prose is lyrical and restrained. Absence becomes a powerful presence. The story is told through the perspective of a son seeking understanding. A quiet, emotionally resonant exploration of choice and loss.

Jones’ novel examines a marriage derailed by wrongful incarceration. Told through letters and shifting perspectives, it explores love under pressure. The book confronts racial injustice without reducing its characters to symbols. Emotional distance grows alongside physical separation. The narrative asks whether love can survive injustice. A compassionate, incisive portrait of intimacy and endurance.

Barker retells the Trojan War from the perspective of enslaved women. The novel strips heroism from epic myth. Violence is rendered starkly and without glamour. Briseis emerges as a voice long suppressed. Power and brutality dominate the narrative. A fierce, corrective reimagining of classical history.

This polyphonic novel follows multiple Native American characters converging at a powwow in Oakland. Orange captures urban Indigenous identity with urgency and compassion. Voices overlap, building momentum and tension. History weighs heavily on the present. Violence is both anticipated and mourned. A groundbreaking, emotionally charged novel.

This sweeping novel follows a formerly enslaved boy as he journeys across continents. Adventure and wonder coexist with brutality and injustice. Edugyan blends historical realism with moments of awe. Freedom is both fragile and hard-won. The narrative celebrates curiosity and resilience. An expansive, imaginative exploration of selfhood.

Louis recounts a traumatic assault and its aftermath through fractured narration. The novel interrogates class, masculinity, and the limits of language. Personal experience is refracted through multiple voices. Shame and rage coexist uneasily. The prose is raw and analytical. A confrontational, deeply personal examination of violence.