The Gamal

(Paperback)

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Description

Charlie has a story to tell, about his best friends Sinad and James and the bad things that happened. But he cant tell it yet, at least not til hes worked out where the beginning is. Because is the beginning long ago when Sinad first spoke up for him after Charlie got in trouble at school for the millionth time Or was it later, when Sinad and James followed the music and found each other Or was it later still on that terrible night when something unspeakable happened and someone chose to turn a blind eye This is the story of the dark heart of an Irish village, of how daring to be different can be dangerous and how there is nothing a person will not do for love. This is the story of the Gamal.

Reviews

A gritty, modern Romeo and Juliet told by a compelling and original voice * Independent *
Astonishing. Inventive. Playful. Unique. A novel to savour. Ciarn Collins is the real deal * Colum McCann *
An unforgettable narrator * John Boyne *
He is a tremendous storyteller He exists somewhere in a literary territory between Patrick McCabe and Roddy Doyle A cracking debut, as moving as it is entertaining * New York Times *
I cant remember the last time a book made me honk with laughter, only to force me to get off the tube early with tears streaming down my face fifty pages later * Evie Wyld, Flavorwire *
A magnificent literary debut By a writer of extraordinary talent * Sunday Independent (Ireland) *
He is a tremendous storyteller ... The Gamal sprawls to more than 450 pages, but the unflagging ingenuity of Ciarn Collinss writing justifies its length. He exists somewhere in a literary territory between Patrick McCabe and Roddy Doyle, but he is very much his own man and this is a cracking debut, as moving as it is entertaining * Independent on Sunday *

Author Bio

Ciarn Collins was born in County Cork in 1977. He teaches English in a school in West Cork. The Gamal is his first novel.