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By: Michael Magee
Narrated by: Conor MacNeill
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

WINNER OF THE ROONEY PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023
WATERSTONES IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023

Sean is back. Back in Belfast and back into old habits. Back on the mad all-nighters, the borrowed tenners and missing rent, the casual jobs that always fall through. Back in these scarred streets, where the promised prosperity of peacetime has never arrived. Back among his brothers, his ma, and all the things they never talk about. Until one night Sean finds himself at a party – dog-tired, surrounded by jeering strangers, his back against the wall – and he makes a big mistake.

'Staggeringly humane, unfaltering, taut and tender... [It] feels like that rarest of things: a genuinely necessary book' Guardian

'Every detail rings true, every character is fleshy and real and heartbreaking... Michael Magee has a remarkable talent' Sunday Times

©2023 Michael Magee (P)2023 Penguin Audio Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political
All stars
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A fantastic debut with a voice that definitely resonated with me. The performance was solid.

A brilliant debut

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Loved this book which beautifully tells how hard it is to escape the chains of class, culture and childhood. Brilliant narration!

Gritty, tender and real.

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Enjoyed every word. Brought me right back to the Gates of Milltown and Belfast City cemeteries. both were foremost in my visit home.

The whole book was like sitting down and listening to the factual, lived experienced stories of my relatives.

Well worth the listening, especially as the narrator was exceptional good. Thank you to the writer and narrator for this exceptional, vivid experience.

My holiday Home

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Great story, dark at times and a great insight into modern Belfast and the changes that are unfolding..
Conor Mac Neil captures the tone (and accents) beautifully

Brilliantly Read by Conor MacNeil

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this is probably the best audio book I've listen to . the narrator pulled me right into Sean's world .

gripping

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Maybe this may have been good had I persisted but I simply couldn’t. I found the Ulster accent of the narrator a real struggle to understand, and the bleak existence of the drug and alcohol dependent young people depicted just wore me down. Trainspotting without the humour.

Too hard for me?

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.