Description

‘A very special novel’ Louise Kennedy

‘An enthralling novel and a remarkable narrative feat’ John Banville

A wild child with a ferocious imagination will stop at nothing to protect his family.

After years of moving from place to place, a young family finds shelter in an isolated house in the Irish countryside. Their father is missing, Mum is a healer and B a formidable big sister. In his strange new territory, a wild little boy gives voice to his experience.

Jerry Drain, a local famer, is stealing hay from the barn, someone is making nasty phone calls to the house at night and darkness is gathering at the edges of their lives. With his ferocious imagination the boy will do everything in his power to protect his family. But Jerry will not go away and Mum seems to be falling under his spell. It will be a year of major wins and baffling defeats for the boy, as Jerry’s true nature insists on revealing itself.

Dark, funny, tender and raw, Frogs for Watchdogs thrums with the intensity of childhood. Above all, it is an ode to the blended family: the bewildering joy, wary safety and profound new bonds of love.

Shortlisted for Newcomer of the Year at the Irish Book Awards

Publisher Review

Every so often a novel comes along that will take the reader’s breath away . . . This novel teeters between profound sadness, near-paralysing anxiety and riotous comedy. It is, in my opinion, a masterpiece * Anne Cunningham, Irish Independent * A tremendous debut * Alex Clarke, Irish Times * Sean Farrell’s impressive debut is a very special novel * Alannah Hopkin, Irish Examiner * I can’t remember the last time I was so caught up in a book . . . a very special novel * Louise Kennedy * An enthralling novel, and a remarkable imaginative feat – the narrative voice is wholly convincing, and utterly compelling. Sean Farrell is a magical writer, and his name is one to conjure with * John Banville * A beautiful novel. I feel real love for it, and a bit emotional after reading it . . . Jerry Drain is one of the most beautifully rendered fictional characters I’ve come across in a long, long time. I think this is a stunning novel and I know it’ll live long in my imagination. I’m so glad to have read it * Donal Ryan * Wise and precise, nuanced and frank, this fiction works on several levels at once, creating pleasure, intrigue and unease * Belinda McKeon * A beautiful novel, painfully yearning, mysterious, and tender. I couldn’t put it down * Una Mannion * A joy . . . How difficult it is navigating the trappings and burdens of masculinity, whether it’s the intensity of childhood or the pressures of young adulthood, yet Sean Farrell writes into this with intelligence, sensitivity and humour * Joshua Jones, Dylan Thomas Prize shortlisted author of Local Fires *