Big Girl, Small Town
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Book Overview
"An immensely lovable debut novel . . . It's the kind of magic you'll feel lucky to find." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
FINALIST FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE Meet Majella O'Neill, a heroine like no other, in this captivating Irish debut that has been called Milkman meets Derry Girls Majella is happiest out of the spotlight, away from her neighbors' stares and the gossips of the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up just after the Troubles. She lives a quiet life caring for her alcoholic mother, working in the local chip shop, watching the regular customers come and go. She wears the same clothes each day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, microwaved at home after her shift ends), and binge-watches old DVDs of the same show (Dallas, best show on TV) from the comfort of her bed. But underneath Majella's seemingly ordinary life are the facts that she doesn't know where her father is and that every person in her town has been changed by the lingering divide between Protestants and Catholics. When Majella's predictable existence is upended by the death of her granny, she comes to realize there may be more to life than the gossips of Aghybogey, the pub, and the chip shop. In fact, there just may be a whole big world outside her small town. Told in a highly original voice, with a captivating heroine readers will love and root for, Big Girl, Small Town will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, and accessible literary fiction with an edge.
FINALIST FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
FINALIST FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE Meet Majella O'Neill, a heroine like no other, in this captivating Irish debut that has been called Milkman meets Derry Girls Majella is happiest out of the spotlight, away from her neighbors' stares and the gossips of the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up just after the Troubles. She lives a quiet life caring for her alcoholic mother, working in the local chip shop, watching the regular customers come and go. She wears the same clothes each day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, microwaved at home after her shift ends), and binge-watches old DVDs of the same show (Dallas, best show on TV) from the comfort of her bed. But underneath Majella's seemingly ordinary life are the facts that she doesn't know where her father is and that every person in her town has been changed by the lingering divide between Protestants and Catholics. When Majella's predictable existence is upended by the death of her granny, she comes to realize there may be more to life than the gossips of Aghybogey, the pub, and the chip shop. In fact, there just may be a whole big world outside her small town. Told in a highly original voice, with a captivating heroine readers will love and root for, Big Girl, Small Town will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, and accessible literary fiction with an edge.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1643750895
ISBN13:9781643750897
Release Date:December 2020
Publisher:Algonquin Books
Length:320 Pages
Weight:0.65 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 5.4" x 8.1"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
did not live up to the hype :(
Published by syd kleinholz , 3 years ago
I really wanted to love this book. I absolutely adored the show “Derry Girls” and was so intrigued when I saw this book compared to it, but “Big Girl, Small Town” was a definite let down. Majella was an interesting lead, but there was no real plot that I felt the story was revealing for her (that is until the absolute last page and even that was underwhelming). The whole time I was reading it felt like I was just waiting for something, ANYTHING, to happen. Nothing ever really did. While the Irish quips, slang, and names were fun to look up and roll around in, that was all I was really enjoying about this book.
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