Mouthing
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Summary
The bestselling Irish debut novel – a multigenerational portrait of small-town life bursting with caustic wit – for fans of Jon McGregor, Elizabeth Strout and Paul Murray
Welcome to Ballyrowan: a village built out of stories. Stories about the girl who got herself into trouble and disappeared to America, the brother and sister who both went mad, the priest who tried to help them and the doctor who had them committed, about your man going off with a young one half his age, the child he left behind, the neighbour who took her in, and what was said and done about it afterwards . . .
‘Engrossing, funny, delightfully wicked’ Irish Times
‘A novel for anyone who ever wondered what the neighbours are really up to behind closed doors’ Jan Carson, author of The Raptures
‘Full of disgrace, inherited trauma and family secrets. It will make you laugh - because if you didn't, you'd surely cry’ Aingeala Flannery
Welcome to Ballyrowan: a village built out of stories. Stories about the girl who got herself into trouble and disappeared to America, the brother and sister who both went mad, the priest who tried to help them and the doctor who had them committed, about your man going off with a young one half his age, the child he left behind, the neighbour who took her in, and what was said and done about it afterwards . . .
‘Engrossing, funny, delightfully wicked’ Irish Times
‘A novel for anyone who ever wondered what the neighbours are really up to behind closed doors’ Jan Carson, author of The Raptures
‘Full of disgrace, inherited trauma and family secrets. It will make you laugh - because if you didn't, you'd surely cry’ Aingeala Flannery
Reviews
Engrossing, acerbic and brilliant. Everyone here has a tale to tell... There is a pub and there is a priest. There are secrets and lies. It is by turns funny, horrifying, and all too real... Mackey’s structure requires the reader to constantly reassess their opinions of the characters. It is a fascinating magic trick, shimmering with fractal richness... Again and again we meet a character, form an opinion, and almost immediately have that wittily torpedoed
The Irish Times