To maintain emotional distance from others, Molly has constructed layers around her identity, history and physical self which her friend peels away and deconstructs for us. Molly's normal reserve and need for anonymity is at odds with her commanding stage persona. Dublin's sophisticated informality is contrasted with grey, enduring Northern Island as conversations from the past pervade the narrator's mind. Andrew, college friend and brothers Tom and Fergus lurk in the shadows to people the story. Molly is a renowned actress, her friend of twenty years a successful playwright. We enter Molly Fox's house in Dublin, lent to the narrator while Molly is in New York. My reading of the book picked up the paradoxes in the characters' identities no doubt readers will find other meanings to ponder. Psychologically, the characters are spot-on.

The narration is more of a gentle conversation with the reader in which nothing much happens, yet whole lives are stripped down to their essence and exposed.

This is an introspective novel so realistically observed that I hesitate to call its technique stream of consciousness. Deidre Madden's writing leads us on, sure-footed, delicate and subtly questioning how we see ourselves and how we connect with others. Molly and her personal circle are like those shoes: sophisticated artifice hides reality from us. My feet look suddenly elegant, not their usual, workmanlike appearance in trainers or flip flops. They're very grown up, with discreet detailing offsetting a subtle glow of silver and white leather. I've just bought a new pair of shoes to complete a wedding outfit. Full of wise nuggets an absorbing read which will please lovers of quiet, understated novels. Summary: As an Irish writer waits for inspiration her mind runs back over a 20-year triangular friendship and the exploration needed by each of the friends to understand their own place in the world.

Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden