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Winner 2021

Madame Lazare

By Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin

Levana has always been proud of her Jewish heritage and the generations of Jewish women who went before her. One of those women is her grandmother, Hana Lazare, who raised Levana in a traditional Jewish community in Paris. Hana’s story is one of struggle: as a child, she fled the Nazi invasion of her Northern European homeland and made her way to London. She was the only member of her family that survived the Shoah. She has never spoken a word about that other life to Levana.

But as Hana succumbs to old age and her mind becomes increasingly confused, fragments of memory emerge that surprise Levana. And as Hana unknowingly reveals more of her past, Levana finds herself questioning everything her grandmother has ever told her. The trail leads from Paris to Brussels to the Atlantic coast of Ireland, and as it does so Levana closes in on the true story of Madame Lazare’s past and the event that changed forever the course of her life.

About Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin...

Explore the 2021 winners

Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year
Specsavers Children's Book of the Year (Junior)
Specsavers Children's Book of the Year (Senior)
Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year
Ireland AM Popular Fiction Book of the Year
Eason Novel of the Year
New Irish Writing Best Short Story in association with the Irish Independent
Listowel Writers' Week Poem of the Year
Bookstation Lifestyle Book of the Year
Dubray Biography of the Year
WHSmith Non-Fiction Book of the Year
TheJournal.ie Best Irish-Published Book of the Year
Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year
RTÉ Audience Choice Award
Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year
Eason Sports Book of the Year
Bookselling Ireland Food & Drink Book of the Year