What they said

“The Whipping Club takes us to mid-20th-century Ireland, where a good Catholic girl decides to give up her half-Jewish child for adoption. Secrecy, lifelong guilt, and remorse aren’t even half of what she and the child will suffer in Deborah Henry’s novel.”O, The Oprah Magazine · Summer Reading Issue

“Henry weaves multilayered themes of prejudice, corruption and redemption with an authentic voice and swift, seamless dialogue. Her prose is engaging, and light poetic touches add immediacy. Echoing the painful lessons of the Jewish Holocaust, Henry’s tale reveals what happens when good people remain silent.”Kirkus Reviews

“Set in 1960’s Ireland, Henry’s riveting debut novel explores the far-reaching effects of a single decision.”Publishers Weekly

“Deborah Henry’s eloquent, magnificently designed novel. A story that will draw out every straw of emotion in your soul. This is the best novel I have read in three years.”Herald de Paris

“The Whipping Club is an intimate, assured first novel, the story of Marian McKeever and her child hidden by cruelty and custom. It rings with the authenticity of shame and courage. You can put it down but you will not forget it.”Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“Deborah Henry is a natural storyteller and she is far more. Her novel The Whipping Club is a compelling read, but it also seriously explores the terrible ways the world often fails its children. Deborah Henry is a splendid young novelist who deserves a wide audience.”Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winner

“Henry writes with great passion, deep vulnerability and sharpest prose about perils and plights, joy and triumph. Commanding a winsome literary voice, Henry would go far to tell many a tale. And she should.”Da Chen, author of Colors of the Mountain

“Eloquent yet never mannered, it captures the four corners of the Irish psyche: mirth, love, fortitude and tragedy. Now stop reading the review and buy the bloody book.”San Francisco Book Review

“The prose of The Whipping Club is gripping, and almost poetic in its emotional depth. The Whipping Club holds the promise of a long and meaningful career for Deborah Henry as a serious writer. Bravo!”Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Henry unfolds a richly atmospheric tale of a Depression Era Irish immigrant in New York City. Henry’s novel is an unforgettable triumph.”Caroline Leavitt, on Circle in the Water

“Deborah Henry creates a world of magic, fairy tale, and lush fantasy, like Gabriel García Márquez translated for kids.”Josip Novakovich, on Watch Her Shine