'A brilliant fusion of scholarly detective work and speculative fiction that will leave you questioning the nature of reality itself.' - John Ahern





'There's a lovely old-fashioned swagger to this novel, and there's no doubt that contemporary Irish fiction needs more of this kind of risky, absurdist mischief-making, just to remind us what we're capable of – it's no coincidence that, before picking up Paradise Lost during a research trip to the library, Seán "looked at books by Seán Ó Ríordáin and Pádraic Ó Conaire, by Rabelais and many writers besides'. - Declan Burke, THE IRISH TIMES









When Cork academic Seán kills an annoying fly and examines it under his flatmate's microscope, he makes a discovery that will shatter everything he believes about reality. What he sees in that tiny specimen launches him into a labyrinth of historical conspiracy, ancient texts, and dangerous secrets that powerful people have killed to protect.

As Seán and his fellow researchers dive deeper, they uncover evidence that this same discovery was made centuries ago by some of Europe's greatest minds—Galileo, Milton, Newton — only to be ruthlessly suppressed.

From the scientific academies of 17th-century Amsterdam and Paris to the corridors of power in Renaissance Rome, a hidden truth has been carefully buried, one that challenges our understanding of human civilisation itself. But knowledge this profound comes at a price. As the mystery deepens, Seán realises that some secrets have guardians who will stop at nothing to keep them hidden.

In our age of deepfakes and social media deception, EL asks the most urgent question of our time: who controls reality?

Part academic thriller, part historical mystery, EL is a mind-bending exploration of truth, faith and the price of knowledge that asks: what if everything we think we know about our place in the universe is wrong?

Translated from Irish by the author, this award-winning work captures the authentic voice of contemporary Irish literature.

This novel was first published in Irish by Coiscéim and was awarded Irish Language Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards.



Thaddeus Ó Buachalla is an Irish language author, poet, and musician from Cork City. He holds a PhD in Modern Irish from University College Cork and is the author of the critical study Clocháin sa Scoilt on the postmodern novel in Irish literature. His debut novel EL won an Oireachtas Literary Award and Irish Language Book of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. His epic poem Immram an Phréacháin, which chronicles a surreal nocturnal journey through Cork City, has been widely performed as a multimedia spoken word show with his own musical compositions. Ó Buachalla's work combines fantastical elements with sharp satirical commentary on contemporary life, blending postmodern aesthetics with distinctly Irish urban sensibilities. Critics have compared his writing to Umberto Eco, while noting its uniquely Corkonian character that brings metropolitan vitality to modern Irish language literature. He is currently completing his second novel, Arrazalius, nó Cathú Antaine, a surreal work inspired by Hieronymus Bosch and set in 15th century Netherlands.



Combines fantasy and satirical literature bringing metropolitan vitality to Modern Irish literature



The winner of the Irish Language Novel of the Year at the 2022 Irish Book Awards, and here translated into English by Thaddeus Ó Buachalla himself, EL is a tongue-in-cheek speculative fiction that is equal parts Flann O'Brien and Dan Brown.





There's a lovely old-fashioned swagger to this novel, and there's no doubt that contemporary Irish fiction needs more of this kind of risky, absurdist mischief-making, just to remind us what we're capable of – it's no coincidence that, before picking up Paradise Lost during a research trip to the library, Seán "looked at books by Seán Ó Ríordáin and Pádraic Ó Conaire, by Rabelais and many writers besides". Not that Seán considers himself in the same league as a storyteller. "I have to let you know from the outset that this is not a novel," he says, keen to flag up his limitations. An overly earnest narrator, Seán is prone to repetition and digression, and the excerpts he selects from historical tomes and letters are starchily formal. EL is, however, a novel of impressively epic sweep, embracing the Black Plague and the Great Fire of London, the political chicanery of the Medici, the timeless battle between good and evil, and the search for "the universal absolute truth"... EL is an early contender for the most ambitious Irish novel of the year.