Mouthing

Orla Mackey

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English

Hamish Hamilton Ltd
27 August 2024

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued, a multi-generational portrait of life in rural Ireland from a bracing new talent in literary fiction

Welcome to Ballyrowan. This sleepy corner of Ireland may seem tranquil but scratch the surface and you'll find a hotbed of gossip and intrigue - endless material for mouthing - and a town full of people only too happy to oblige in spreading the bad news.

Narrated by several generations of villagers, Mouthing traces the misadventures of one small community from the mid-20th century to the early 21st in a series of highly confessional, darkly humorous, sharply observed monologues. These are people who delight in twisting the knife, perfecting the art of schadenfreude over many decades. And, it becomes clear, none of them are entirely reliable witnesses. As each one tells their version of events, revealing contradictory versions of 'the truth', we see how feuds are passed down through the generations, how families are estranged or reunited and fortunes made or lost, how strict social expectations can shift and loosen over time (and how some things remain stubbornly unchanged).

Mouthing is an acerbic, unsentimental love letter to rural Ireland, where everyone knows everyone else's business and everyone has an opinion on it - where 'community' is both a lifeboat and a life sentence.

By: Orla Mackey
Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 215mm, Width: 136mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 255g
ISBN: 9780241617298
ISBN 10: 0241617294
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 27 August 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print

Orla Mackey is a writer and teacher based in Kilkenny in Ireland. She studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin. Mouthing is her first novel.

Reviews for Mouthing

Terrifically sharp-witted and deeply moving, Orla Mackey's novel crackles with intelligence and life. Reading these pages I had the feeling, time and again, of stepping into a moving current -- Chetna Maroo, author of 'Western Lane' A wonderful novel full of memorable characters and charming voices. I was absorbed, amused and moved by Orla Mackey's masterful depiction of so-called ordinary life in all its richness and complexity -- Ben Hinshaw, author of 'Exactly What You Mean'