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Title details for Wild Houses by Colin Barrett - Wait list

Wild Houses

by Colin Barrett
Damian Gildea
Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 4 weeks
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 4 weeks

Brought to you by Penguin.
The remarkable, funny and thrilling debut novel from the acclaimed, prize-winning author of the short story collections, Young Skins and Homesickness
As Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, the simmering feud between small-time dealer, Cillian English, and County Mayo's fraternal enforcers, Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, spills over into violence and an ugly ultimatum.
When the reclusive Dev answers his door on Friday night he finds Doll - Cillian's bruised, sullen, teenage brother - in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch. Jostled by his nefarious cousins, goaded by his dead mother's dog and struck by spinning lights, Dev is unwillingly drawn headlong into the Ferdias' revenge fantasy.
Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Nicky can't shake the feeling something bad has happened to her boyfriend Doll. Hungover, reeling from a fractious Friday night and plagued by ghosts of her own, Nicky sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina.
The beautifully crafted, thrillingly-told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence, Wild Houses is the long-anticipated debut novel from award-winning and critically-acclaimed short story writer, Colin Barrett.
©2024 Colin Barrett (P)2024 Penguin Audio

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 25, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781529936308
      • File size: 197064 KB
      • Duration: 06:50:32

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 17, 2024
      Barrett’s splendid debut novel (after the collection Homesickness) wraps a taut crime story around a fascinating set of character studies. In County Mayo, Ireland, 20-something Dev Hendrick has an agreement with Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, weed-dealing brothers who stash their product at his late mother’s house. His loyalty is tested after the Ferdias show up with a teen named Donal “Doll” English, whom they’ve kidnapped and expect Dev to shelter until they receive an overdue payment from Doll’s older brother. Barrett replays the night of Doll’s capture and following three days of captivity in alternating perspectives, primarily Dev’s and that of Nicky Hennigan, Doll’s girlfriend who was with him at the party from which he disappeared after they had a drunken fight. Nicky, a 17-year-old bartender with plans to go to college, assumes Doll abandoned her, and vacillates from concern to anger as she wonders if there’s room in her future for him. As Doll pleads with Dev to let him go, and after Nicky learns of Doll’s predicament, Barrett maps the contours of their inner worlds in dizzying and richly textured detail. Even as Barrett ramps up the suspense, the reader has little doubt as to who these characters really are. This is a knockout.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners follow Nicky Hennigan, a young waitress in the small town of Ballina, Ireland, who discovers that her boyfriend, Doll English, has disappeared. Over a single weekend, Nicky comes to find out that Doll has been kidnapped by the Ferdia Brothers. Damian Gildea captures the wit of this story in every line and voice. Gildea reflects the pale existence of the Irish countryside in his portrayal of the characters and their search for light, both literally and figuratively. His rich, punchy voice brings out all the twists and turns of this single weekend in Ireland and all the fiascos that ensue. Listeners can expect moments that are laugh-out-loud funny, staggeringly thrilling, and all around a joy to listen to. N.R.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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