Common Decency, Susannah Dickey
While Common Decency exudes humour, empathy and perceptive insights into two women’s psyche, there is also a certain darkness to its revelations that is sure to linger in the minds of readers.
Susannah Dickey, critically acclaimed author of Tennis Lesson, returns with a propulsive novel that follows the convergence of the lives of two forlorn women living in the same apartment block.
On first glance, Common Decency may sound like yet another modern novel set in Belfast that focuses on the inner angst of two millennial women, but – rest assured – Dickey’s latest novel is a truly unique exploration of our modern world as one in which, despite living in such close proximity to one another, honest human connection is not always easy to find.
It is this yearning for connection and empathy that unites the two women at the centre of this story; Lily and Siobhán. Since her mother’s death, Lily has retreated from life and fallen into a cycle of grief and anger. Her upstairs neighbour, Siobhán, builds her days and very existence around the sporadic attention of the married man she is sleeping with. Dickey skilfully follows the internal unravelling of both characters, whose lives slowly begin to intertwine.
While Common Decency exudes humour, empathy and perceptive insights into two women’s psyche, there is also a certain darkness to its revelations that is sure to linger in the minds of readers.
Editorial Picks
Return to Editorial Archive
