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Wild Houses
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
From the award-winning writer of Homesickness and Young Skins, a darkly funny and deeply moving debut novel about crimes of desperation, dreams abandoned, and small-town secrets that wont stay buried. As Ballina in the west of Ireland 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 DollCillian's bruised, sullen, teenage brotherin 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.
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review
Suet624
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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The brother of a drug dealer is kidnapped. That character and the sweet and anxious man who must open his home to the kidnappers, and the girlfriend of the kidnapped man are all characters you root for. While I enjoyed the novel I can‘t say I was fully invested in it even though the Irish small town setting, the characters and the intrigue normally would have kept me focused. I enjoyed the writing though. #bookerlonglist24

BarbaraBB Same! 2mo
Suet624 @BarbaraBB 👯‍♀️ 2mo
51 likes2 comments
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BarbaraBB
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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#Booker 9/13

Not sure how or why this book ended up on the Booker longlist but I did enjoy it. It‘s a fast paced story about a drugsdeal gone wrong and the consequences for a bunch of interesting characters. I especially loved Dev and Nicky and I loved the ending, especially what it meant to Nicky!

(📷 Dordrecht, Netherlands)

rmaclean4 I started this but had to return it to the library half read . I was enjoying the novel. If it makes the longlist, I will finish. 2mo
Graywacke Love your picture, again. 🙂 I‘m looking forward to a fast paced novel. 2mo
squirrelbrain Yes, it didn‘t feel *quite* Booker-y enough to me, but I really liked it! 2mo
See All 9 Comments
Suet624 In the middle of it now. 2mo
Cathythoughts I really enjoyed it too. But I wasn‘t happy with the ending … a kind of meh ending 😁🤷🏼‍♀️ 2mo
BarbaraBB @Cathythoughts I liked how Nicky didn‘t commit herself to a future with Doll! 2mo
Cathythoughts Yes , I agree. But I thought it kind of petered out then. 2mo
BarbaraBB @Cathythoughts That‘s true, no surprises there. 2mo
BarbaraBB @Graywacke Thanks! Yes, a welcome surprise on the longlist! 2mo
69 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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JenP
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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This was a solid pick for me but not sure how it made it onto the longlist. At least it wasn‘t dry and repetitive which seems to be a theme of this year‘s longlist.

Our panel‘s reviews are here https://thereadersroom.org/2024/08/16/booker-longlist-2024-wild-houses-by-colin-...

BarbaraBB I‘ve heard good things about this one. 2mo
25 likes1 comment
blurb
Tripex
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Booker Prize longlist (13)
Shortlist (6) announcement date, 16 September
You've read any?

BkClubCare I‘ve only read James. A few already on my tbr. I can‘t keep up! 2mo
Tripex @BkClubCare Cheering you on from the sidelines. You can do this 🤗 2mo
17 likes2 comments
blurb
Lindy
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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You are invited to check out my latest weekly booktube episode:

https://youtu.be/rZEhFePF9jk

It‘s an All-Canadian Friday Reads featuring graphic novels; poetry; nonfiction; SFF; historical fiction; & short stories
#LGBTQ #CanadianAuthors

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charl08
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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The first book from the #Booker24 longlist I've read since the list was announced.

Gripping story set in small-town Ireland. I was worried about what was going to happen to the "nice" characters (and hoping for some kind of comeuppance for the awful ones).

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charl08
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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After the separation, Dev thought the mother might get rid of the chair, but she did not. Eventually he realised this wasn't out of sentiment. Getting rid of the chair would have been a definitive act, and to someone of his mother's worn-down and inveterately fateful cast of mind, definitive acts were acts of presumption, vulnerable to unforeseen consequences, and therefore reckless. The chair became a kind of protective charm and warning system..

squirrelbrain Poor Dev! 3mo
charl08 A review in two words there @squirrelbrain ... 3mo
squirrelbrain Hopefully not a spoiler 😬…. He was so pathetic all of the way through. 3mo
45 likes4 comments
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Jas16
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Really wasn‘t expecting to love this book centered around a drug related kidnapping in small town Ireland but I think I did. Sure there are the violent, lackeys out to the money owed to their boss that you would expect in a book like this one but there are also the perspectives of the others that get caught up in it all that make this book anything but typical. The writing is tight and the dialogue smart all in under 300 pages.

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BookWrym
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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#Booker2024 Book 3

Set in small town Ireland this book manages to capture what life is like for those on the fringes of society, the outsiders, the bad influences and the lead astray.

Violence simmers below the surface in this story of drug dealing gone wrong and as in so many cases it is the wrong people who pay the price.

Interesting dynamics between the central characters and the crossovers their lives have in the past.

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Cathythoughts
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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A well told story of two small time Mayo crooks, and a few other brilliantly written characters. Engaging from beginning to the very end , with some beautiful writing too. Colin Barrett creates a great sense of place , of small town Ireland. It reads like a thriller, I loved it.

Tamra What a fabulous review! 😃 I‘ve heard nothing but good things. 3mo
Cathythoughts @Tamra They are all true 😃❤️ ( I think anyway) (edited) 3mo
sarahbarnes Great review. Stacking this one. 3mo
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Cathythoughts @sarahbarnes I‘ll look forward to your thoughts 👍🏻❤️ 3mo
squirrelbrain Great review! 😄❤️ 3mo
LeahBergen This sounds great! 3mo
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen I really enjoyed it. My husband just read it and it turns out he‘s quite the critic 😬😂 He liked it though, couldn‘t put it down actually. 3mo
Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain Thanks Helen ❤️ 3mo
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ClairesReads
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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There‘s a lot to like here, some great Irish storytelling about a lives of crime, and crime-adjacent lives. There‘s some cracking dialogue and a rollicking plot. but in the end I wasn‘t really sure what it was saying about the way that crime ripples through lives, or about its characters. Very much a vibe-y novel which is great on that level, but was missing a little depth for me.

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squirrelbrain
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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#booker #longlist 8/13

I went into this expecting not to like it, based on other reviews and, indeed, it took me a while to get drawn in but soon I was engrossed. Dev lives alone in a remote cottage following the death of his mother, when his dodgy cousins turn up with a teenager in tow, who they‘ve kidnapped to pay off a drug debt.

I can‘t figure out (yet!) if I agree with those who say it isn‘t a Booker book - still mulling it over! 🤔

Leniverse I am really curious about this one! And quite happy to have some non-Booker/atypical Booker books on the list! 3mo
AnneCecilie Another interesting review. A Booktubuer talked about this, don‘t remember who (I‘ve seen some Booker predictions videos) and their description made it sound interesting. Now you got me intrigued. 3mo
squirrelbrain @Leniverse @AnneCecilie - to me it does feel Booker (ish) as it‘s ‘misery porn‘. A bit like Shuggie Bain only not so relentless. 😬 I listened to this on Audible - the narration was fabulous. 3mo
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AnneCecilie I first bailed on Shuggie Bain, before I listened to it on audio and didn‘t like it then either. But I‘ll keep in mind about the audio for this one 3mo
Leniverse Oh no! I was hoping it was more along the lines of black humour. Ok, I'm forewarned. 3mo
squirrelbrain Actually, @Leniverse I can see how some readers might find the (dark) humour in it. To me, they were all rather pathetic with no way out of the situations they found themselves in. You may see it quite differently though. 🤔 3mo
Leniverse 🤔 Very intrigued now 😆 3mo
JamieArc I had this on my list of “only read if you see good reviews” and sure enough, it‘s one I really want to get to before the shortlist is announced now. 3mo
BarbaraBB Like @AnneCecilie I didn‘t like Shuggie Bain at all. The all-over misery indeed always puts me off. I‘ll be hoping for some (dark) humor! 3mo
Graywacke Another! Glad to see you enjoyed it (Booker material or not). 3mo
Cathythoughts Great review Helen. I just finished it and I loved it. 3mo
squirrelbrain Glad you loved it! @Cathythoughts 3mo
69 likes12 comments
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Cathythoughts
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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I was only going to have a look … now I can‘t put it down. It‘s the writing that has caught me.

squirrelbrain I‘m about 2/3 through on audio. I wasn‘t sure at first but now I‘m wrapped up in it. 3mo
Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain Yes , I‘m wrapped up in it too this evening 👍🏻😁 3mo
BarbaraBB Can‘t wait to read it! 3mo
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jlhammar That‘s great to hear! Looking forward to it. 3mo
BookWrym Good to know I have this from the library 3mo
EverydayImReading Great review @Cathythoughts Stacking 👏🏼 3mo
Cathythoughts @BarbaraBB @jlhammar @BookWrym @EverydayImReading Just finished it and I loved it. 👍🏻♥️ 3mo
BarbaraBB That settles it! Thank you ❤️ 3mo
68 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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shawnmooney
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Gleefulreader
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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A dark story about the dead ends of life. Two characters kidnap a teen boy to force his brother to pay a drug dealing debt, stashing him at their loner cousin‘s house. The cousin is a young man who experiences depression and anxiety and is grieving the loss of his mother. The boy‘s girlfriend just wants to escape the town. It‘s a story that doesn‘t offer easy resolutions but brilliantly illustrates the dead ends in some communities.

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TheKidUpstairs
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Engaging, entertaining, & thoughtful. Small town drug dealer Cillian English has pissed off his suppliers, they retaliate by snatching his teenage brother Doll and hiding him away in a country house. The story is elevated by Barrett's choice to frame the telling through the eyes of Nicky, Doll's girlfriend, and Dev, the owner of the house. Both really just want to get through this & be left alone. They give the story a unique and memorable heart.

RohitSawant Sounds interesting! 7mo
58 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
TheKidUpstairs
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Two VERY different #TuesdayTunes I keep returning to these days:

Rise - The Frames https://open.spotify.com/track/4mHLZO8iKoHQSkxRVavhC1?si=HCGuoB2URoOMvSbCGwQ5CA

Sorry, Not Sorry - Demi Lovato https://open.spotify.com/track/0yvPEnB032fojLfVluFjUv?si=LYWybnkARFWBNJpJtn3nOg

@TieDyeDude

(Tagged is my current read!)

BarbaraBB So very different! Love it! 7mo
TieDyeDude Thanks for sharing! Glen Hansard is one of my absolute favorite artists. I learned of him from the Swell Season and his recent solo work. I need to go back and explore his stuff with the Frames. 7mo
44 likes2 comments
review
JenP
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Beautifully written, impactful literary crime novel about stagnation in a small town in Ireland. This is Barrett‘s debut novel which is getting some deserved buzz in literary circles. My full review is on the blog: www.thereadersroom.org

BarbaraBB Sounds good! 8mo
JenP @BarbaraBB I think you would like it 8mo
BarbaraBB Thanks! Stacking! 8mo
30 likes3 comments
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JenP
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Loving this book. Also not a spoiler