"A wildly unique and unforgettable Dublin–set fairy tale about the unforgettably unique Vivian."
Vivian is one of life’s outsiders; an orphan oddity adrift from the world, whose parents told her she was a Changeling. She posts her aunt’s ashes to her aunt’s friends, and then to strangers from the phone book. She advertises for a friend who “Must Answer to Penelope: Pennies Need Not Apply.” Against the odds, a Penelope responds, and a bond is formed but still, Vivian wanders Dublin, doing the strange things that make perfect sense to her, but arouse alarm in others and the question, “Is everything, alright?”
This charming, unsettling, magical story about loneliness, reaching out, friendship and hope is laced with dark humour and whimsy. It is at once briskly amusing and deeply moving, and makes a marvellous companion to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
A highly original perspective on everyday life.
Eggshells by Caitriona Lally is a highly original novel set in Dublin. Vivian, a young woman who has just inherited her aunt’s house, believes that she is a changeling and is seeking a way to cross the cosmic divide back to fairyland. The book is an account of Vivian’s (earthly) life over a period of a few months and the various encounters with people and places enable us to see the world through her eyes. While most of Vivian’s reasonings are, to say the least, rather offbeat, I thought that some of her observations about dealing with loud people and escaping awkward social situations were quite insightful.... Read Full Review
For fans of Eleanor Oliphant and Bee Larkham. Quirky characters, Dublin-based, funny and sad at the same time!
This short novel is a quick read that reads well if you familiar with Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine set very much in modern Dublin. The main character, Vivian is on an autistic spectrum, with mental health and learning disabilites, that first seem like being odd and anti-social. You don't warm to her too much and there is not much in a way of a plot. Here and there you have almost pages of long lists, which definitely brings on the autistic spectrum quite well, but does not add to the book itself and drags. There were a few very well written comic passages of misunderstandings, that made me laugh out loud! We will learn about the reasons why Vivian is like she is, but there could be more about her great-aunt and reasons why her sister is selfish and cold.... Read Full Review
A beautifully written and charming story which will have you laughing and will bring tears to your eyes.
A quiet and unique story about Vivian who finds herself living alone in her Great Aunt's house and trying to work out the world around her and where she stands in it.
I loved Vivian from the first page, I loved her personality and her descriptions of Dublin as she explores the City.
A brilliantly written novel.... Read Full Review
A modern Irish literary gem for anyone who has felt like the odd one out. `Inventive, funny and, ultimately, moving' GUARDIAN `Wildly funny' THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW `Magically delicious' KIRKUS REVIEWS `Beguiling' THE IRISH TIMES `Delightfully quirky' THE IRISH INDEPENDENT Vivian is an oddball. An unemployed orphan living in the house of her recently deceased great aunt in North Dublin, Vivian boldly goes through life doing things in her own peculiar way, whether that be eating blue food, cultivating `her smell', wishing people happy Christmas in April, or putting an ad up for a friend called Penelope to check why it doesn't rhyme with antelope. But behind her heroic charm and undeniable logic, something isn't right. With each attempt to connect with a stranger or her estranged sister doomed to misunderstanding, someone has to ask: is Vivian OK? A poignant and delightful story of belonging that plays with the myth of the Changeling and takes us by the hand through Dublin. A poetic call for us all to accept each other and find the Vivian within.
Eggshells features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Books with reviews by our Reader Review Panel, General Fiction, Star Books, Fiction, Recommendations
Eggshells is available in Paperback, Ebook
Eggshells was written by Caitriona Lally and published by The Borough Press an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Eggshells has 400 pages
£8.99
