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A Long Long Way

Sebastian Barry

6.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Irish author and playwright Sebastian Barry has created a powerful new novel about divided loyalties...

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Holding in Books

Jan 3, 2023

Holding

Graham Norton | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

3 of 235
Book
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.

Kudos

The White Deer of Kildare (The Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales #2)

Christy Matheson

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A Winter Solstice fairy tale adventure All Maura wants is a peaceful winter holidays in her Irish...

Time-Slip Fantasy

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”.

List

James Tait Black Memorial Prizes

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

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

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

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

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

C.E. Morgan

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

and 3 other items

Kudos Comment

Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated Out of Tune in Books

Jan 12, 2018

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.