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Recent Reviews
Madeleine Gray
Positive Irish Times (IRE) The book opens at a gallop with Hera’s distinctive voice – smart, funny, self-deprecating, verbose and precocious ... Gray handles Hera’s coming-of-age story skilfully, subtly transforming her from a silly and childish, irresponsible and slightly unkind character to someone the reader understands and cares about deeply, someone with real feelings and a real heart that is being broken ... Despite Gray’s arch and exuberant writing style, there is a bleak undercurrent to the book ... The best part of the book – Hera’s acidic voice – is at times its biggest weakness, as her monologues can feel too lengthy. Hera’s family back story could also be more fleshed out but there is still so much to enjoy in this debut novel, not least a smart and modern sense of humour, Gray’s stylish and intelligent writing and some beautiful depictions of true love in the form of Hera’s relationships with her loving father.
Naoise Dolan
Rave Irish Times (IRE) One of the most impressive aspects of Dolan’s debut was the strength and confidence of the writing and The Happy Couple exhibits many of those elements, including the clever quips and funny one-liners ... There is much humour in Dolan’s arch observations of Anglo-Irish relations ... But I miss the linguistic showmanship Dolan brought to her debut, the acrobatic revelry in language that was so exciting but seems to have been reined in a little here. The intricate dialogue also seems to trip up the rhythm of the story at times rather than making it flow. But these feel like peevish complaints, a bit like asking a child who has scored 97 per cent on a test what happened to the other 3 per cent. The overall experience of reading this novel is one of great pleasure and enjoyment.
Una Mannion
Positive The Irish Times (IRE) A sure-footed and emotionally complex second novel ... Like the story itself, Mannion’s writing evades easy categorisation as it straddles literary and genre fiction. Her language is beautifully descriptive while her story has all the pacy elements of a thriller ... At times these pronouncements and metaphors can feel a little intrusive, and the story can ebb slightly when certain plot points require brief explanation, but these are fleeting moments as Mannion’s focus is always on her reader, and on moving the story forward.
Anne Griffin
Rave The Irish Times (IRE) The fact that Jeanie can hear the dead becomes quickly irrelevant, operating as a kind of quirky light relief to the main story, which Griffin unfolds skilfully, drawing the reader in tightly. She is a complex character, who doesn’t always do what the reader might like her to do, which makes her gratifyingly real, torn between head and heart, passion and duty ... Irishness is an essential ingredient in Griffin’s stories, from the small towns to the large landscapes to the agricultural life to the sense of humour. The overall effect...is one of twinkling, lovable Irishness but it stops short of becoming something hackneyed, which I suspect plays a big part in Griffin’s international appeal. Griffin’s writing is even more assured in this novel [than in her last], and her confidence is particularly evident in her control of her large cast of family, friends and funeral parlour clients, which call to mind Marian Keyes’ vast arrays of lovable and entertaining characters ... There are deep thoughts sown beneath the light and charming surfaces of Griffin’s novels. Her books are fable-like, deep musings on life, mortality, and what makes a life worth living, philosophy for everyday readers, cleverly disguised as a good old-fashioned story. And if that’s not a recipe for another bestseller, I don’t know what is.