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Lisa McInerney is from Galway and is the author of award-winning blog 'Arse End of Ireland'. The Irish Times has called her 'arguably the most talented writer at work in Ireland today'. Her mother remains unimpressed. The Glorious Heresies is her first novel. It has been longlisted for the Baileys’ Women’s Prize for Fiction, the University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize and the Desmond Elliott Prize for Fiction.
Author photo © Lisa McInerney
Like all twenty-year-olds, Ryan Cusack is trying to get his head around who he is. This is not a good time for his boss to exploit his dual heritage by opening a new black market route from Italy to Ireland. It is certainly not a good time for his adored girlfriend to decide he's irreparably corrupted. And he really wishes he hadn't accidentally caught the eye of an ornery grandmother who fancies herself his saviour. There may be a way clear of the chaos in the business proposals of music promoter Colm and in the attention of the charming, impulsive Natalie. But now that his boss's ambitions have rattled the city, Ryan is about to find out what he's made of, and it might be that chaos is in his blood.
Another outstanding, compelling read from Lisa McInerney, winner of the 2016 Desmond Elliott Prize and winner of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2016. Having devoured and raved about ‘The Glorious Heresies’ (one of our Books of the Year 2016), my expectations were sky high, yet I was an incy wincy bit worried, could she follow in her own fabulous footsteps? Well let me reassure you, she has, and ‘The Blood Miracles’ stands defiant. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, do start at the beginning with ‘The Glorious Heresies’, as this continues on from there, Ryan is now 21, he’s coming up in the world, or is it down, if you’re in the murky world of selling drugs? Lisa McInerney can really, really write, she can connect horror and beauty, violence and sweetness, she allows your mind to enter a world that feels scarily real, within touching distance. The sense of place within this series ensures ‘The Blood Miracles’ is convincing, captivating and very, very readable. Long may Lisa McInerney reign. ~ Liz Robinson
One of our Books of the Year 2016. Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award 2016. Winner of the 2016 Desmond Elliott Prize. Winner of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2016. A quite simply sensational debut, one that reaches into the beastly heart of prostitution, drugs, and violence, and makes it relatable and so very very human. Set in Ireland, an accidental murder twists the lives of five Cork residents into warped disarray. The five stories nudge, then collide together as they become one. I found I had to re-read the first paragraph, it felt deliberate, a statement of intent, once I was used to the style, I quite simply devoured this stunning novel. Lisa McInerney writes with eloquent beauty, words either gang up together to punch and kick your thoughts, or they linger, waiting to kiss your soul. Lisa McInerney has a distinct and powerful voice, I found this beguiling, mesmerising and on occasion wonderfully shocking. ‘The Glorious Heresies’ made me giggle, made me sad, made me think, it basically spoke straight to my gut and I loved every earthy, raw second of it. Desmond Elliott Chair of judges Iain Pears said: “We knew we had found a major literary figure of the next generation when we made our choice last month – it’s good to see other prize judges have subsequently agreed with us. Lisa is a genuinely exciting writer – there is electricity running through her prose.” Margaret Mountford, Chair of the Baileys Prize Judges, said: “After a passionate discussion around a very strong shortlist, we chose Lisa McInerney’s The Glorious Heresies, a superbly original, compassionate novel that delivers insights into the very darkest of lives through humour and skilful storytelling. A fresh new voice and a wonderful winner".
REUNIONS. RECRIMINATIONS. RECKONINGS. Ireland. Great nationalists, bad mothers and a whole lot of secrets. Ryan Cusack is ready to deliver its soundtrack. Former sex-worker Georgie wants the truth about Ryan's past out there but the journalist has her own agenda. Mel returns from Brexit Britain, ill-equipped to deal with the resurgence of a family scandal. Karine has always been sure of herself, till a terrible secret tugs the rug from under her. Maureen has got wind that things are changing, and if anyone's telling the story she wants to make sure it's her. A riotous blast of sex, scandal, obsession, love, feminism, gender, music, class and transgression from an author who is 'totally and unmistakably the real deal' (Kevin Barry).
REUNIONS. RECRIMINATIONS. RECKONINGS. Ireland. Great nationalists, bad mothers and a whole lot of secrets. Ryan Cusack is ready to deliver its soundtrack. Former sex-worker Georgie wants the truth about Ryan's past out there but the journalist has her own agenda. Mel returns from Brexit Britain, ill-equipped to deal with the resurgence of a family scandal. Karine has always been sure of herself, till a terrible secret tugs the rug from under her. Maureen has got wind that things are changing, and if anyone's telling the story she wants to make sure it's her. A riotous blast of sex, scandal, obsession, love, feminism, gender, music, class and transgression from an author with tremendous, singular talent.
Als Maureen Phelan nachts in ihrer Kuche einen Einbrecher uberrascht und ihn mit einer Devotionalie erschlagt, ahnt sie nicht, dass sie damit eine Reihe von fatalen Ereignissen in Gang setzt. Naturlich muss zunachst der Leichnam entsorgt und der Kuchenboden geschrubbt werden, allerdings hat Maureen eine ausgesprochene Abneigung gegen Hausarbeiten jedweder Art, weshalb sie ihren Sohn Jimmy einbestellt. Der kontrolliert das organisierte Verbrechen der Stadt, die Geldverleiher und Buchmacher, die Drogenkuriere und Zuhalter. Naturlich will auch Jimmy sich nicht die Hande schmutzig machen, das uberlasst er in der Regel anderen - beispielsweise seinem alten Kumpel Tony Cusack, Trinker, Vater von sechs Kindern, alleinerziehend, wenn man uberhaupt von Erziehung sprechen kann. Der alteste Sohn Ryan hat mit seinen funfzehn Jahren schon eine beachtliche Karriere als Dealer hingelegt. Eine seiner Klientinnen ist die junge Prostituierte Georgie. Deren Freund Robbie steigt gerne mal in Hauser ein und ist seit Kurzem spurlos verschwunden ... Lisa McInerneys Debutroman ist eine bitterbose Komodie uber die Macht des Zufalls und das Leben in einem krisengeschuttelten Land, das gepragt ist von Gewalt und Bigotterie. Eine literarische Tour de Force, fulminant erzahlt, voller Empathie und groteskem Humor.
The second novel from the author of the Baileys Prize-winning The Glorious Heresies 'Fast paced, compelling, and thrilling, Lisa McInerney writes the type of fiction that is both beautifully crafted and immensely enjoyable' Louise O'Neill 'The Blood Miracles has all the brio, street smarts and vicious linguistic verve of The Glorious Heresies, but with this follow up Lisa McInerney also reminds us just how brilliantly accomplished and ruthlessly focused a storyteller she is' Colin Barrett Like all twenty-year-olds, Ryan Cusack is trying to get his head around who he is. This is not a good time for his boss to exploit his dual heritage by opening a new black market route from Italy to Ireland. It is certainly not a good time for his adored girlfriend to decide he's irreparably corrupted. And he really wishes he hadn't accidentally caught the eye of an ornery grandmother who fancies herself his saviour. There may be a way clear of the chaos in the business proposals of music promoter Colm and in the attention of the charming, impulsive Natalie. But now that his boss's ambitions have rattled the city, Ryan is about to find out what he's made of, and it might be that chaos is in his blood.
From Lisa McInerney, hailed by The Irish Times as ';arguably the most talented writer at work in Ireland today,' comes The Glorious Heresies, a searing debut novel about life on the fringes of Ireland's post-crash society. When grandmother Maureen Phelan is surprised in her home by a stranger, she clubs the intruder with a Holy Stone. The consequences of this unplanned murder connect four misfits struggling against their meager circumstances. Ryan is a fifteen-year-old drug dealer desperate not to turn out like his alcoholic father, Tony, whose feud with his next-door neighbor threatens to ruin his family. Georgie is a sex worker who half-heartedly joins a born-again movement to escape her profession and drug habit. And Jimmy Phelan, the most fearsome gangster in the city and Maureen's estranged son, finds that his mother's bizarre attempts at redemption threaten his entire organization. Biting and darkly funny, The Glorious Heresies presents an unforgettable vision of a city plagued by poverty and exploitation, where salvation still awaits in the most unexpected places. New York Time's Book Review's "e;10 Best Crime Novels"e; of the year
WINNER OF THE BAILEYS' WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016 WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE 2016 LONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2016 LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIAR CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 'The Glorious Heresies heralds the arrival of a glorious, foul-mouthed, fizzing new talent' SUNDAY TIMES 'Totally and unmistakably the real deal' KEVIN BARRY 'A real stunner; a wild ride of a read' DONAL RYAN 'A gripping and often riotously funny tale' COLIN BARRETT 'A punchy, edgy, sexy, fizzing feast of a debut novel' JOSEPH O'CONNOR 'He was definitely dead, whoever he was. He wore a once-black jumper and a pair of shiny tracksuit bottoms. The back of his head was cracked and his hair matted, but it had been foxy before that. A tall man, a skinny rake, another string of piss, now departed. She hadn't gotten a look at his face before she flaked him with the Holy Stone and she couldn't bring herself to turn him over.' One messy murder affects the lives of five misfits who exist on the fringes of Ireland's post-crash society. Ryan is a fifteen-year-old drug dealer desperate not to turn out like his alcoholic father Tony, whose obsession with his unhinged next-door neighbour threatens to ruin him and his family. Georgie is a prostitute whose willingness to feign a religious conversion has dangerous repercussions, while Maureen, the accidental murderer, has returned to Cork after forty years in exile to discover that Jimmy, the son she was forced to give up years before, has grown into the most fearsome gangster in the city. In seeking atonement for the murder and a multitude of other perceived sins, Maureen threatens to destroy everything her son has worked so hard for, while her actions risk bringing the intertwined lives of the Irish underworld into the spotlight . . . Biting, moving and darkly funny, The Glorious Heresies explores salvation, shame and the legacy of Ireland's twentieth-century attitudes to sex and family.
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