Snowflake: Winner of Newcomer of the Year

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Description

'A beautiful novel; tender, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply moving' - Louise O'Neill

'Astonishing. Louise Nealon is a ridiculously talented writer' - Stacey Halls

Eighteen-year-old Debbie White lives on a dairy farm with her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. Billy sleeps out in a caravan in the garden with a bottle of whiskey and the stars overhead for company. Maeve spends her days recording her dreams, which she believes to be prophecies.

This world is Debbie's normal, but she is about to step into life as a student at Trinity College in Dublin. As she navigates between sophisticated new friends and the family bubble, things begin to unravel. Maeve's eccentricity tilts into something darker, while Billy's drinking gets worse. Debbie struggles to cope with the weirdest, most difficult parts of herself, her family and her small life. But the fierce love of the White family is never in doubt, and Debbie discovers that even the oddest of families are places of safety.

A startling, honest, laugh and cry novel about growing up and leaving home, only to find that you've taken it with you, Snowflake is a novel for a generation, and for everyone who's taken those first, terrifying steps towards adulthood.

Reviews

Snowflake is a beautiful novel; tender, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply moving * Louise ONeill *
An astonishing achievement. Louise Nealon is ridiculously talented; already I'm greedy for more * Stacey Halls *
Mad and wonderful. I thought I was reading one thing, then discovered - several times as I read - that I was reading a different, even better thing * Roddy Doyle *
GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching * Marian Keyes *
An incredibly ambitious debut, beautifully written * Sam Baker *
A novel for anyone who's ever felt lost in the world, Louise Nealon balances humour and tragedy in a sharp debut * John Boyne *
It's a long time since I've loved a novel as much as Snowflake. The prose shines with observations about life love family mental health, milking the cows and what it means to be coming of age in the times we live in - I felt I had discovered a diamond - a real treasure! * Christy Lefteri *
Snowflake is raw, sharp-sighted, affirming, and also very very funny. Louise Nealon's prose shimmers as do her irregular and damaged characters. Stunning * Una Mannion *
Can a young woman be innocent yet outrageous, longing to succeed at university yet close to failing, deeply embarrassed by her manic depressive mother yet devoted Yes, yes, yes. Louise Nealon's beguiling narrator Debbie is all these things, and much more. Snowflake is a wonderfully inventive, deeply felt novel full of the best kinds of surprises. * Margot Livesey *
Nealon balances humour and devastation well in this relatable novel. * Irish Examiner - 15 debuts to watch out for in 2021 *

Author Bio

Louise Nealon studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin, and then completed a masters in creative writing at Queen's University Belfast in 2016. She lives on her family farm in County Kildare.