The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor

I loved this book! It's about a family in Ireland in the 1920's. The father, mother and 8 year old daughter, Lucy, live in a big house and land that has been in the family for a long time. They love their life and home there, but their safety is threatened because of the unrest in Ireland and a strong opposition to the English (Lucy's mom is originally from England). After stopping an arson attempt by some young men, the father decides to move the family to England for their protection. No one wants to leave their beloved home, but Lucy doesn't understand the situation her family is in. The night before their planned departure, Lucy runs away, hoping to delay and ultimately stop their move to England. Not long after leaving home, Lucy breaks her ankle in the woods near her home. Her family looks for her only to find evidence that leads them to believe she has drowned in the ocean. Her parents assume she's dead, stop looking for her, and in their overwhelming grief, leave for England as planned. This story is all about choices, consequences, misunderstandings, and guilt.
I really enjoyed it. The ending dragged on a bit for my liking, but overall I liked it a lot. It's fantastic writing. I found it to be a very tragic, but not depressing story. It's also very clean. No sex, no profanity, so it's a good suggestion for a book club that might have more sensitive members. I would love to hear other opinions on it if/when anyone else reads it!