NAME UPON NAME
Little Island Books, 2015
Belfast in 1916. Fourteen-year-old Helen is shaped by her mixed background – rural, Catholic Irish values from her mother; urban, Protestant Ulster values from her father. Helen’s older cousins are her idols: Sandy, who joined the army straight from school and has already seen action in France, and Michael, who runs away from home to enlist. But before he leaves for France, Michael is deployed to Dublin to help quell the Rising, where he’s expected to open fire on his fellow Irishmen, and Sandy writes home about terrible things on the front. What exactly are they fighting for?
‘History is rarely clean and simple; the beauty of this book is that it embraces that complexity.’ Dr Patrick Geoghegan, Professor of History at TCD and presenter of Newstalk’s Talking History
‘Wilkinson masterfully combines the big questions of nationalism, pacifism and early feminism in a way so subtle that you would barely notice. Name Upon Name is a great way to introduce political understanding to young readers.’ The Irish News
‘With its Yeatsian title and epigraph, Wilkinson’s novel aims high in its literary aspirations and, as its carefully and subtly crafted plot demonstrates, addresses them more than adequately. The key to its success lies in its portrayal of its heroine, caught up in a world whose puzzling assumptions defy, for the moment at least, rational explanation.’ The Irish Times
‘The novel vividly captures the difficulties of a young girl caught between opposing sides…Wilkinson makes writing look easy, an admirable quality.’ Editor’s Choice in Armadillo Magazine, Sept 2015
‘This novel understands that conflict is universal, and that the struggles in the sitting room are as real as those in the trenches. The honesty and tenderness with which she realises history is admirable.' Deirdre Sullivan, author