Search results for ""author alan mcmonagle""

Shortlisted for The Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards 2017Longlisted for the 2017 Desmond Elliott Prize'Alan McMonagle possesses a style that is all his own and I found his first novel compelling from start to finish. Read it.' Patrick McCabe, author of The Butcher BoyIthaca, the ferociously funny and unbelievably poignant debut novel from Alan McMonagle, combines a fiercely emotional story with crackling prose.Summer 2009, and eleven-year-old Jason Lowry is preoccupied with thoughts of the Da he has never known. In the meantime, his vodka-swilling, swings-from-the-hip Ma is busy entertaining her latest boyfriend and indulging her fondness for joyriding.Jason escapes to the Swamp: a mysteriously rising pool of fetid water on the outskirts of the town. There, he meets the girl, a being as lost as himself. Together, they conjure exotic adventures - from ancient Egypt to the search for Ithaca, home of Odysseus. But what begin as innocent flights of fancy soon become forays into hazardous territory; the girl is a dangerous (and very committed) partner in crime.

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‘A cracker’ Patrick McCabe‘An irresistible comedy’ Luke KennardLaura Cassidy is going all the way. Hollywood. Starry lights. The Walk of Fame. It’s her destiny. At least, that’s what her movie-obsessed father used to tell her. That was always the plan.Sure, it’s been a bit slow-going, but the stars have finally aligned. The long-awaited new theatre is about to open, and their first production calls for a particularly fiery female lead. This part has Laura’s name on it.There’s her meddlesome older sister to get past – freshly returned from saving the world. Her occasional lover and stand-in leading man seems to think it’s all a waste of time. And probably best not to mention the audition to her mother, especially after what happened last time . . . Laura just has to stay one step ahead of them all.Channelling the era of Hollywood’s silver screen and told in a voice that blends devil humour, quiet mayhem, and a singled-minded optimism that might just lead to disaster, Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame tells the story of a troubled soul desperate to find her place in life.

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