Many of us at Mainstreet discovered the writing of Sebastian Barry with his extraordinary novel, The Secret Scripture, so it’s a huge pleasure to welcome him on Thurs 27th October to talk about his new novel, Days Without End.

After signing up for the US army in the 1850s, aged barely seventeen, Thomas McNulty and his brother-in-arms, John Cole, go on to fight in the Indian wars and, ultimately, the Civil War. Having fled terrible hardships themselves, they find these days to be vivid and filled with wonder, despite the horrors they both witness and are complicit in.

Moving from the plains of the West to Tennessee, Sebastian Barry’s latest work is a masterpiece of atmosphere and language.

‘A true leftfield wonder: Sebastian Barry’s Days Without End (Faber) is a violent, superbly lyrical western offering a sweeping vision of America in the making, the most fascinating line-by-line first person narration I’ve come across in years…’ Kazuo Ishiguro