OUR STORE IS CLOSED ON ANZAC DAY: THURSDAY 25 APRIL

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

Red Dirt

E.M. Reapy

$29.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
Head of Zeus
01 June 2016
Three young Irish people have come to Australia, running from the economic ruins of their home country and their own unhappy lives. In this promised land, stunned by the heat and the vast arid space of the interior, they each try to escape their past in a chaotic world of backpacker hostels, huge fruit farms and squalid factories, surrounded by new friends who are even more damaged and dangerous than they are themselves. Endless supplies of cheap drink and drugs loosen what little sense of responsibility they have, and a spiral of self-destructive behaviour forces each of them to face up to the reality of their lives.

This is a story of the consequences of impulsive choices and of the places where they lead. A vulnerable young man is left alone by his friends in a remote wilderness; a desperate girl puts herself into the hands of violent sex traffickers; a once-privileged favourite son lets a drunken quarrel escalate to murder. An utterly compelling, readable novel that hooks from the first page and immerses us in an all-too topical nightmare.

By:  
Imprint:   Head of Zeus
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 228mm,  Width: 145mm, 
ISBN:   9781784974633
ISBN 10:   1784974633
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Reviews for Red Dirt

'Tense and edgy' * Sunday Herald * E.M. Reapy's debut novel blew me away. What a magnificent writer she is' -- Joseph O'Connor, Irish Times 'I loved Red Dirt ... Her tale of drink and drugs and fatal mischance is driven along by crackling energy and a brilliant ear for dialogue. The pages keep turning and it is only when the book is completed that the reader gets to sit back and marvel at how skilfully the author has told her tale. A terrific debut' * Sunday Independent * 'The story Reapy tells is dark ... but there is also hope, and humanity, but they are not easily maintained during a story told with savage honesty ... At times, Reapy's shocking prose calls to mind Henry Miller or Louis Ferdinand Celine' * Galway Advertiser * 'As accomplished a debut as you'll find' * Sunday Independent * 'Fast-paced and riveting ... Reapy's ability to create narrative tension is outstanding ... Reapy speaks to this 'lost generation' of young Irish economic migrants and represents a new and exciting voice in post boom Irish literature' * Writerful Books. * An utterly compelling, readable novel that hooks from the first page and immerses us in an all-too topical nightmare' * Linda's Book Bag * 'This book delves into the depths of humanity' (4/5 stars)' -- Rosie Amber 'Astoundingly accomplished ... thought-provoking and addictive' * Irish Examiner * 'The author is certainly one to watch ... A fantastic debut and certainly bodes well for her future novels. Red Dirt is raw. It is brutally honest. And it is, at times, appropriately elegiac' -- Darcie Boleyn 'Takes the modern Irish immigrant experience and turns it into a thought-provoking, vibrant novel ... highly impressive writing from a first-time novelist, a story that moves from humour to poignancy with ease' * Irish Times * 'With forceful dialogue and pages of drama, Red Dirt is a compelling read perfect for the long hot summer days' * Butterfly Books * 'Reapy has a dazzling ear for dialogue ... This book does for young Irish expats in Australia what Alex Garland's The Beach did for backpackers in Thailand and Dermot Healy's Sudden Times did for a different generation of Irish labourers in London. It's a confident and distinctive debut, and one would have to be dead to the thrill of fiction not to be hugely excited about what its author will do next' * Irish Independent * 'A remarkably accomplished and vivid debut novel' Joseph O' -- Joseph O'Connor


See Also