Description

‘A heady mix of thrills and heartbreak . . . I enjoyed it so so much’ GRAHAM NORTON

‘What [Macmanus has] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people, is terrific, and deeply moving’ RODDY DOYLE

I’m a Londoner now. I’m a voice in the noise. I’m ready.

It’s the turn of the millennium and, landing in London with nothing but her CD collection and demo tape, Orla Quinn moves into a squalid Kilburn house with her best mate and a band called Shiva.

Orla wants to make music, but juggling two jobs and partying every night isn’t helping. Back in Ireland her parents’ marriage has crumbled, she’s not speaking to her father, and her mother and sister are drinking too much.

While Orla’s own dreams seem to be going nowhere, Shiva are on the brink of something big. But as the hype around the band intensifies, so does the hedonism, and relationships in the house are growing strained.

This is the story of a young woman thrashing through life, trying to find home in a strange new place. It’s also a story about music: how it can break you down and build you back up again, and how to find your rhythm when all you hear is noise.

Praise for The Mess We’re In:

‘Bracingly lyrical’ OBSERVER

‘A dizzyingly good read’ iPAPER

‘The bygone heyday of indie rock pulses with authenticity’ IRISH INDEPENDENT

‘Such a gorgeous book . . . I absolutely ate up every word’ AISLING BEA

‘I’m so sad it’s over. I could have read another sixty chapters . . . A fantastic read’ JOANNE MCNALLY

‘Beautifully painted, well set up and realistic’ SARA COX

Praise for Mother Mother:

‘A writer whose understanding and capturing of human nature comes as easily to her as breathing’ CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS

‘Writes with flair and confidence rarely seen in a debut’ SINEAD GLEESON

‘Tender, surprising, occasionally bleak, moving and delicate’ IRISH TIMES

‘A study of grief, addiction and what it means to be a mother’ STYLIST

‘Melancholy, beautifully unadorned prose’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

Publisher Review

I really liked the book. I loved the pace of it, it belts along but never feels rushed. The writing is so vivid - I could almost feel Orla's hangover, and everyone else's too. [Macmanus has] created a great gang of characters, and a great variety too, all of them very human . . . All the music in the novel is cleverly and very successfully achieved. And London - what [she's] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people - is terrific, and deeply moving. -- Roddy Doyle The book is so, so good...It's so beautifully written. I could have read on and on, I was so sad when it ended. -- Joanne McNally Such a gorgeous book . . . I absolutely ate up every word . . . It has been so long since a book has stopped me from, not just checking my phone, but actively made me want to put my phone to the side and focus completely on the story. I loved Orla, I can see the TV show or the movie already. I loved the world - oh my God was it nostalgic about moving to London . . . It's just so grounded in someone who knows the world and place they're talking about and it just fully comes through . . . It's just done so brilliantly and needless to say at the end I cried... I loved this book. -- Aisling Bea I felt like I'd joined Orla on a mad twisted fairground ride, clinging on with her as she's thrown about and has her ups and downs . . . Beautifully painted. -- Sara Cox A heady exploration of home, identity and belonging. Dark and funny, it's a dizzying tale of young adulthood and the glimmering freedom and not-so-good decisions that come with it. -- Chloe Ashby A warm and beautiful coming-of-age novel that made me nostalgic for an upbringing that wasn't even mine. I will read anything Annie Macmanus writes. -- Annie Lord Perfectly evokes that heady mix of thrills and heartbreak we experience as young Irish newcomers trying to find our own London. I enjoyed it so so much. -- Graham Norton The Mess We're In is a dynamic novel, charting Orla Quinn's move from Dublin to Kilburn. The story follows a group of friends as they come of age in a new and exciting London, filled with opportunity. But the shadows of lonely figures lurk on the High Road, and Macmanus deftly traces the Irish immigrant experience from intergenerational viewpoints. Awash with beautiful musical imagery, sharp dialogue, and colourful characters--this book searches for belonging, identity, camaraderie and new starts. A very moving read. -- Elaine Feeney A gloriously unsentimental trip through youth, friendship and music. Always relatable, sometimes heartbreaking, it's a life-affirming survey of the triumphs, failures and messes of young adulthood. -- Seamas O'Reilly A dizzyingly good read. * iPaper *