Wild Houses

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The remarkable, funny and thrilling debut novel from the acclaimed, prize-winning author of the short story collections, Young Skins and Homesickness The remarkable, funny and thrilling debut novel from the acclaimed, prize-winning author of the short story collections, Young Skins and Homesickness As Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, the simmering feud between small-time dealer, Cillian English, and County Mayo's fraternal enforcers, Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, spills over into violence and an ugly ultimatum. When the reclusive Dev answers his door on Friday night he finds Doll - Cillian's bruised, sullen, teenage brother - in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch. Jostled by his nefarious cousins, goaded by his dead mother's dog and struck by spinning lights, Dev is unwillingly drawn headlong into the Ferdias' revenge fantasy. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Nicky can't shake the feeling something bad has happened to her boyfriend Doll. Hungover, reeling from a fractious Friday night and plagued by ghosts of her own, Nicky sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina. The beautifully crafted, thrillingly-told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence, Wild Houses is the long-anticipated debut novel from award-winning and critically-acclaimed short story writer, Colin Barrett. PRAISE FOR HOMESICKNESS ------------ 'A mesmerizingly powerful book, full of the strangeness and beauty of life' SALLY ROONEY, author of NORMAL PEOPLE 'A masterwork - by turns hilarious and heart-breaking... What fierce, tender stories. Totally unforgettable' BRANDON TAYLOR, author of REAL LIFE 'Homesickness is one of the finest collections I've read this year. There is so much life in these pages, captured through the sharpest observations but the lightest touch. Superb' DOUGLAS STUART, author of SHUGGIE BAIN 'Barrett is already one of the leading writers of the Irish short story... He just kills it' ANNE ENRIGHT, author of THE GATHERING 'Addictive, stylish and violently funny stories, with riches on every page - an outstanding collection' KEVIN BARRY, author of NIGHT BOAT TO TANGIER 'Edgy, sharp and utterly original, Homesickness is an utterly compelling collection and Barrett is meticulous' ELAINE FEENEY, author of HOW TO BUILD A BOAT

Reviews

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
Vivid, controlled, very funny, and very moving - Barrett has the kind of pure writing chops that are vanishingly rare -- Kevin Barry
Wild Houses is swift, tender, and honest. It's been a long time since I've been so worried, so heartbroken, so moved by a set of funny misfits. Barrett is one of our keenest observers of the miraculous amid the everyday and of the uncommon beauty of common things, the power of attention. When I finished this novel, I desperately wanted to call Dev, Doll, or Nicky, just to see if they were okay, to see if everything had turned out alright. A brilliant novel. -- Brandon Taylor
Vivid and wild, funny and chilling - Wild Houses is the business -- Roddy Doyle, author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
Wild Houses has a rare momentum that comes from the rhythms of the sentences, the vivid descriptions and the brilliantly chosen details. The momentum emerges also from the depth and complexity of the main characters and the wide sweep of the narrative. In a small town in the west of Ireland over a few days, a whole world, memorable and edgy, is captured for the reader -- Colm Tibn, author of Brooklyn
Wild Houses is a taut, brooding thunderstorm of a novel. -- Rnn Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul
Colin Barrett proved with his short stories that he's not only one of the most stylistically gifted writers working now, but also one of the most generous. His first novel, Wild Houses, is deft, intricate, unique - restorative in its refusal to be anything but itself. Colin Barrett is a talent of the rarest kind -- Nicole Flattery

Author Bio

Colin 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.