The Bend for Home is a family memoir Dermot Healy explores the obduracy of memory and the vagaries of recollection. Whether he is describing the family's move from the sleepy village of Finea, County Westmeath, to the bustling market town of Cavan; or his father, a kind policeman in poor health, who plays cards and drinks stout with his cronies; or his mother, whose stories young Dermot has heard so often that he believes they are his own; or Aunt Maisie, whose early disappointment in love has left her both dreamy and cynical (the two sisters run a thriving cafe and bakery), Healy maintains that true storyteller's distance and playfulness.