Description
Book SynopsisColin Barrett grew up in County Mayo, Ireland. His stories have been published in the
Stinging Fly,
Granta,
Harper's and the
New Yorker. His first book, the short story collection
Young Skins, won the Guardian First Book Award, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. His second collection,
Homesickness, made the
New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year and was a Book of the Year in
Oprah Daily and the
Irish Times.
Trade ReviewSublime… Wild Houses is a thrillingly moreish novel with some of the sharpest dialogue I’ve read in any recent debut and characters who
held me captive until the very last page * Sunday Times *
A delicate and beautiful book about the lives of lonely people...
Page after faultless page, Wild Houses is a sheer joy to read... Colin Barrett's the real deal, but then we knew that already * Irish Times *
So consistently witty and inventive that
one struggles to think of recent novels that could stand up to comparison * Guardian, *Book of the Day* *
With a thrillerish intensity… Barrett expertly handles the combination of narrative-driving dialogue, exhilarating action scenes and quieter moments designed to build tension…
I was unable to put Wild Houses down * Times Literary Supplement *
After years of short stories,
Barrett’s transition to the longer span of the novel is confidently done. Descriptive set pieces are linked and expanded, yet every paragraph is created with care * Financial Times *
Barrett’s
superb debut novel deepens the world of his two short-story collections… The novel
has the tension of a gritty noir thriller and the comic menace of a Pinter play * New Statesman *
Barrett can sustain a narrative across a novel without sacrificing the panache and precision that has made him
one of the most stylish fiction writers at work today. His prose is a delight from the first page * i *
Wild Houses realises life in full and without pity... A palpable sense of human eccentricity, and endurance, is always there, just beneath the surface * Daily Telegraph *
Until now, Colin Barrett has made his name as an artist of the short story…
Wild Houses is a delight, with a wider space for his talent to spread and for his acutely observed characters to linger * Spectator *
This strange and beautiful novel brings to life an entire world.
Wild Houses is a book not just to read but to live inside -- Sally Rooney, author of Normal People
Sharp and affecting, expansive and playful, Barrett has written
a gorgeous novel filled with gorgeous sentences. A dream to read, and no doubt destined to be one of the novels of the year -- Michael Magee, author of Close to Home
Colin Barrett quietly, insistently, writes so deeply into his characters you could reach out and touch them.
Wild Houses is
a gift of true storytelling and Barrett’s talent burns up the page -- Anne Enright, author of The Wren, The Wren
Vivid, controlled, very funny, and very moving -
Barrett has the kind of pure writing chops that are vanishingly rare -- Kevin Barry, author of Night Boat to Tangier
Funny, engrossing, and told with masterful technique * Daily Mail *
Wild Houses is
a wonder of a novel - crackling with tension and gifted with fine, strong language.
Colin Barrett is a superb storyteller, and this is a tale for the ages -- Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13
