Review of So It Is by Liam Murray Bell

So It Is by Liam Murray Bell is an incredibly powerful début novel set in 1980s Belfast. It’s split into two parts: Book 1 and Book 2.

Book 1 opens with Cassie, a Republican paramilitary and honeytrap, whose voice is written in italics. This enhances the sense of observant detachment in Cassie’s voice as she coldly selects her victims. 

The brutal violence that Cassie inflicts is designed to leave lasting damage that her victims will have to live with every day, altering their lives irrevocably. 

This is contrasted with twelve-year-old Aoife’s voice, which has the naivety of a child shot through with an incredulous sense of humour, even though her life is far from funny. Liam Murray Bell has a good ear for the lyrical Irish accent, and the colloquialisms are never overdone.

Aoife’s father is frequently away down the pub while her mother sinks into a pill-fuelled oblivion. In response, Aoife takes on the parental role to keep her family safe from harm, especially her ten-year-old brother Damien. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and understands how easily led her brother could be with no responsible parent to guide him. 

Two secondary characters, Aoife’s best friend Becky and her brother Ciáran (whom Aoife has a crush on), provide alternative perspectives. Becky’s home life is just as difficult as Aofie’s but she channels her anger into creativity, while Aoife has no outlet for hers. Meanwhile, Ciáran can’t wait to leave school to ‘serve his community’.

Aoife’s desire to have a romantic relationship with Ciáran fades when she realises what he is prepared to risk in order to serve. As the adults in Aoife’s life continue to let her down she becomes increasingly frustrated, angry and isolated, and eventually her strong sense of morality is annihilated.

In Book 2, as Cassie’s determination to commit violence escalates, Liam Murray Bell

challenges the perceptions of ‘justified’ violence through the choices that she makes.

Through the juxtaposition of Aoife and Cassie’s stories, So It Is explores the physical and psychological devastation of the Northern Irish conflict on many levels with sensitivity and compassion. This is an intelligent, carefully constructed novel that includes real events from The Troubles to reinforce its emotional power.

Published by Myriad Editions 
With thanks to Myriad Editions for the preview copy.