One February night in 1943, a fire broke out at a Catholic orphanage in Ireland. Thirty-five girls became trapped and died; the cook also lost her life. Every nun survived. An inquiry the same year reported appalling mistakes. The Sisters had requested that the fire be put out before the children were evacuated. The fire brigade was slow to respond and finally arrived with inadequate equipment. No one was found to blame.
In the remarkable title story of this debut collection, the dead girls narrate the tale of this terrifying night. It is superbly paced, to devastating effect. From the view of the town of Cavan and beyond, the focus tightens, line by line, to the neighbours who noticed the smoke, to the girls who “felt it first as a settling of boards, the scraping of a hinge, a sound like a yawn, a taste of ash at the back of the throat”. Soon, there are screams and prayers and calls to be saved.
