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Holding
Holding
Graham Norton | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (5 Ratings)
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3 of 235
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Holding
By Graham Norton
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama, and yet its inhabitants are troubled: Sergeant P.J. Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; Brid Riordan, a mother of two, hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste.

So when human remains—suspected to be those of Tommy Burke, a former lover of both Brid and Evelyn—are discovered on an old farm, the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As a frustrated P.J. struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his professional life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regrets.

I’m always a bit weary of novels written by celebrities as they never reach that expectation. But this was so good I really enjoyed delving into this little Irish village and it’s hidden secrets. If you haven’t read it I recommend I just love Graham Norton.
  
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Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list

Sep 28, 2017
Eimear McBride, who won the Baileys prize in 2014 for a first novel which had struggled to find a publisher, won Britain’s oldest literary award, the James Tait Black prize, for her second, The Lesser Bohemians.

McBride’s The Lesser Bohemians, in which an 18-year-old Irish girl comes to London and falls for an older actor, was described by judges as “an extraordinary rendering of a young woman’s consciousness as she eagerly embarks on a new life in London”.

Established in 1919, The James Tait Black Prizes are Britain's oldest literary awards. There are two book prizes, one for fiction and one for biography.


Rasputin: The Biography

Rasputin: The Biography

Douglas Smith

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A hundred years after his murder, Rasputin continues to excite the popular imagination as the...

A Stain in the Blood: The Remarkable Voyage of Sir Kenelm Digby

A Stain in the Blood: The Remarkable Voyage of Sir Kenelm Digby

Joe Moshenska

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY and THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR...


History
A Life Discarded: 148 Diaries Found in a Skip

A Life Discarded: 148 Diaries Found in a Skip

Alexander Masters

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Unique, transgressive and as funny as its subject, A Life Discarded has all the suspense of a murder...

The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velazquez

The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velazquez

Laura Cumming

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BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. "The Vanishing Man is a riveting detective story and a brilliant...

The Sport of Kings

The Sport of Kings

C.E. Morgan

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...

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Out of Tune
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This collection of short stories with has a interesting twist in that they are all based on traditional ballads. I really enjoyed the variety and the dark twist on all of them. Some of my favorites were "Driving Jenny Home" and "John Barleycorn Must Die". As a person who loves Irish and Scottish folk music these stories gave me a new perspective on the music I listen too.

I will be recommending book. Especially to my friends with literature and music degrees.