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A Beautiful Loan

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A Beautiful Loan

By: Mary Costello
Narrated by: Caitríona Ní Mhurchú
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A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2026 SO FAR

My name is Anna, and for some time now, I have been trying to account for certain events in my life – my adult life, that is – which, from this vantage point of forty-five years, I often find baffling . . .

In 1985 Dublin, nineteen-year-old Anna Hughes is in thrall to Peter Gallagher, an older, worldly man. Anna is introverted and naïve, and Peter’s experience, wide circle of friends and thirst for adventure captivate her. Her obsessive longing for him leads to marriage and, eventually, a crushing betrayal.

As Anna’s life becomes less predictable, she uncovers deeper layers of herself. Her journey gives an intimate portrait of a woman embracing herself as she is, claiming the life she yearns for.

 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological
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Critic reviews

"Costello is one of Ireland's greatest writers . . . Her prose is precise and focused and, like a stiletto blade, sinks deep . . . This is a big book in a small package, about one woman's growth" (JOHN SELF)
"A Beautiful Loan is a beautiful novel; Mary Costello guides her reader through a cloud of emotional turmoil in fine, controlled sentences. We must hope it delivers her the belated recognition she so richly deserves" (LUCY THYNNE)
"Many authors describe the writer’s principal duty as one of attention: to the world around us, in all its beauty and ugliness. In a sense, this is also a moral act. Costello does this in all her work. That we as readers might be surprised by the significance and profundity she renders to each and every life is a measure of her depth of attention, and perhaps why there is no greater chronicler of the inner life at this moment. As artificial intelligence and big tech force an increasingly diminished definition upon us of what it means to be human, this novel reminds us that we are so much more" (MICHAEL AMHERST)
"A Beautiful Loan is a quietly devastating psychological novel about a woman’s search for love, meaning and selfhood. . . . Told in Anna’s first-person voice and in the present tense, the novel offers an intimate portrait of her inner and outer worlds. On the surface, all seems calm as she recounts her journey from circumspect young teacher to mature woman, yet an undercurrent of unease runs throughout, bubbling up in unsettling moments of insight that give the writing subtle intensity"
"A Beautiful Loan is one of the most beautiful and original novels I have read in years. Mary Costello is an extraordinary talent, possessing a gift for capturing characters with smart intricacy. Anna's inner life is so richly rendered that the emotional intensity of the book felt very visceral; an intimate portrait of an Irish woman's journey delivered with refined power" (ELAINE FEENEY)
"Yet another triumph in Costello’s illustrious career, [which] will hopefully bring her the plaudits that she so richly and fully deserves"
"A subtle, unsettling and deeply humane novel that lingers long after the final page"
"An exceptional, compulsive novel of love, loss and courage. Told in poetic, clear-eyed prose, A Beautiful Loan is heart-breaking but unsentimental, and easily Costello's best work yet" (SINEAD GLEESON)
"Mary Costello is a writer of a rare and exquisite sensitivity — intimate, piercing, death-haunted — with sentences that can turn on a pin into vastness" (PAUL LYNCH)
"A deeply-felt exploration of women’s pain, precisely attuned to the nuances of psychic suffering, and to the ways that our human longing is a misplaced longing for the divine, this is an intensely moving and exquisitely-written novel" (LUCY CALDWELL)
All stars
Most relevant
Any burb that references Jungian theory/therapy and individuation captures my interest immediately. This did not dissapoint...the protaginst couagely faces her shadow marked by a journey of social, cultural conditioning, male domination, trauma, betrayal and realises that a healed psychic doesn't need permission to exist.

Discernment is a function of Consciousness

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The story of an Irish woman and her love of literature and Jungian theory which accompany her through 2 devastating relationships. The writing is skilful and immensely insightful. No easy answers here, but revelations that ring resoundingly true

Insightful and compelling

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I looked forward to listening to this book every day. I could identify with this character. The narration was excellent and the story is excellent too. I’ll listen to this book again.

Am glad I chose this book to listen to

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