{"product_id":"the-mess-were-in-9781472297129","title":"The Mess Were In","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A heady mix of thrills and heartbreak . . . I enjoyed it so so much'' GRAHAM NORTON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''What [Macmanus has] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people, is terrific, and deeply moving'' RODDY DOYLE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eI''m a Londoner now. I''m a voice in the noise. I''m ready.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt''s the turn of the millennium and, landing in London with nothing but her CD collection and demo tape, Orla Quinn moves into a squalid Kilburn house with her best mate and a band called Shiva.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOrla wants to make music, but juggling two jobs and partying every night isn''t helping. Back in Ireland her parents'' marriage has crumbled, she''s not speaking to her father, and her mother and sister are drinking too much.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile Orla''s own dreams seem to be going nowhere, Shiva are on the brink of something big. But as the hype around the band intensifies, so does the hedonism, and relationships in the house are growing strain\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA dizzyingly good read. * iPaper *\u003cbr\u003e[An] immersive, music-infused coming-of-age story . . . Captures a time and a place with heart and irresistible momentum in a prose that can be \u003cb\u003ebracingly lyrical\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Hephzibah Anderson * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA brilliant coming-of-age novel.\u003c\/b\u003e * Bella Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eMacmanus \u003cb\u003eperfectly captures both the hedonism and uncertainty of being a twentysomething\u003c\/b\u003e in a new city. * Heat Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Mess We're In i\u003c\/i\u003es \u003cb\u003ea visceral, raw account of the music business' allure for young people\u003c\/b\u003e and the trappings that are best avoided. Annie McManus proved herself to be a fine debut author with\u003ci\u003e Mother Mother\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003cb\u003ethis cements her an exciting literary voice\u003c\/b\u003e. * Sunday Business Post *\u003cbr\u003eI really liked the book. I loved the pace of it, it belts along but never feels rushed. \u003cb\u003eThe writing is so vivid\u003c\/b\u003e - I could almost feel Orla's hangover, and everyone else's too. [Macmanus has] created a great gang of characters, and a great variety too, all of them very human . . . All the music in the novel is cleverly and very successfully achieved. \u003cb\u003eAnd London - what [she's] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people - is terrific, and deeply moving\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Roddy Doyle\u003cbr\u003eThe book is so, so good...It's \u003cb\u003eso beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eI could have read on and on\u003c\/b\u003e, I was so sad when it ended. -- Joanne McNally\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSuch a gorgeous book . . . I absolutely ate up every word\u003c\/b\u003e . . . It has been so long since a book has stopped me from, not just checking my phone, but actively made me want to put my phone to the side and focus completely on the story. I loved Orla, I can see the TV show or the movie already. I loved the world - oh my God was it nostalgic about moving to London . . . It's just so grounded in someone who knows the world and place they're talking about and it just fully comes through . . . It's just done so brilliantly and needless to say at the end I cried... \u003cb\u003eI loved this book\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Aisling Bea\u003cbr\u003eI felt like I'd joined Orla on a mad twisted fairground ride, clinging on with her as she's thrown about and has her ups and downs . . . \u003cb\u003eBeautifully painted.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sara Cox\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA heady exploration of home, identity and belonging\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eDark and funny\u003c\/b\u003e, it's a dizzying tale of young adulthood and the glimmering freedom and not-so-good decisions that come with it. -- Chloë Ashby\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA warm and beautiful coming-of-age novel\u003c\/b\u003e that made me nostalgic for an upbringing that wasn't even mine. \u003cb\u003eI will read anything Annie Macmanus writes.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Annie Lord\u003cbr\u003ePerfectly evokes that \u003cb\u003eheady mix of thrills and heartbreak\u003c\/b\u003e we experience as young Irish newcomers trying to find our own London. \u003cb\u003eI enjoyed it so so much.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Graham Norton\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Mess We're In\u003c\/i\u003e is a dynamic novel, charting Orla Quinn's move from Dublin to Kilburn. The story follows a group of friends as they come of age in a new and exciting London, filled with opportunity. But the shadows of lonely figures lurk on the High Road, and Macmanus deftly traces the Irish immigrant experience from intergenerational viewpoints. \u003cb\u003eAwash with beautiful musical imagery, sharp dialogue, and colourful characters--this book searches for belonging, identity, camaraderie and new starts. A very moving read.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Elaine Feeney\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA gloriously unsentimental trip through youth, friendship and music. Always relatable, sometimes heartbreaking\u003c\/b\u003e, it's a life-affirming survey of the triumphs, failures and messes of young adulthood. -- Séamas O'Reilly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA pounding, immersive kaleidoscopic trip\u003c\/b\u003e right into the heart of London's clubland, I loved \u003ci\u003eThe Mess We're In\u003c\/i\u003e for the wild trip that it is. Annie is such a generous writer, and she brings her extraordinary knowledge of the music industry to \u003cb\u003ethis gorgeous novel which thrums with the rhythm of many, many beats\u003c\/b\u003e. Her depiction of the misogyny running through the music industry at the start of the millennium is eye opening, but \u003cb\u003ethis is a beautiful, optimistic novel which is so rich in both the strange, difficult, extraordinary experience of being a human, and the deeply redemptive power of music.\u003c\/b\u003e It's a fantastic read and Annie is a wonderful writer. -- Clover Stroud, author of THE RED OF MY BLOOD\u003cbr\u003eThis is \u003cb\u003ea well-written novel, perceptive about the music business \u003c\/b\u003eand the fleeting connections made at the after parties of gigs. * Irish Examiner *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA brilliant coming of age novel.\u003c\/b\u003e * Closer *\u003cbr\u003eAnnie Macmanus writes with\u003cb\u003e remarkable verve and wisdom\u003c\/b\u003e, and in Orla\u003cb\u003e she has created easily my favourite character of recent years\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eTender, hilarious, sad and ultimately hopeful\u003c\/b\u003e... I love this book. -- Louise Kennedy\u003cbr\u003eMacmanus makes deft work of capturing the Irish emigrant intergenerational experience. To prevent the characters who frequent the pub from tipping into caricature they are written with humour and grace, offering an illuminating foil to the new Irish experience that Orla represents...\u003cb\u003e[Macmanus] \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ehas spun a moving story from the threads of her own history. \u003c\/b\u003eOrla is written with unsentimental authenticity...It is her flaws, her vulnerability and her complexity that make her such a compelling character that will resonate with anyone who has ever left home in search of themselves... This novel is constructed of Macmanus's DNA - her Irish emigrant experience, music industry insight, her passion for music, people and stories - and \u003cb\u003ethe world that is built is deeply human, provocative and enriching. Orla is searching for a voice in the noise - Macmanus articulates that hunger with confidence and compassion. And in so doing, finds her own.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Helen Cullen * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eI adored this. \u003cb\u003eI think in twenty years it will be just as vital\u003c\/b\u003e - a historical document, saying, \"Yes, this is how we lived.\" \u003cb\u003eBeautiful and messy\u003c\/b\u003e -- Karl Geary\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Headline Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48739467100503,"sku":"9781472297129","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472297129.jpg?v=1720052330","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-mess-were-in-9781472297129","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}