Wild Houses cover art

Wild Houses

Discover the thrilling debut novel from the award winning Irish author

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Wild Houses

By: Colin Barrett
Narrated by: Damian Gildea
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £12.06

Buy Now for £12.06

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The remarkable, funny and thrilling debut novel from the acclaimed, prize-winning author of the short story collections, Young Skins and Homesickness

As Ballina 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 Doll - Cillian's bruised, sullen, teenage brother - in 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.


©2024 Colin Barrett (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural World Literature Funny
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

Sublime… Wild Houses is a thrillingly moreish novel with some of the sharpest dialogue I’ve read in any recent debut and characters who held me captive until the very last page
A delicate and beautiful book about the lives of lonely people... Page after faultless page, Wild Houses is a sheer joy to read... Colin Barrett's the real deal, but then we knew that already
So consistently witty and inventive that one struggles to think of recent novels that could stand up to comparison
With a thrillerish intensity… Barrett expertly handles the combination of narrative-driving dialogue, exhilarating action scenes and quieter moments designed to build tension… I was unable to put Wild Houses down
After years of short stories, Barrett’s transition to the longer span of the novel is confidently done. Descriptive set pieces are linked and expanded, yet every paragraph is created with care
You’ll love Colin Barrett’s debut novel… Barrett has a keen ear for the absurd that held me captive until the very last page
With two collections behind him, Barrett is well established as a master both of the short story and the sentence; his debut novel confirms and extends all his promise. Wild Houses is a propulsive, darkly comic and superlatively written account of frustration and misadventure in a small Irish town... The connections between the cast and the past tragedies that have forged them are expertly revealed in a slow-burn study of character and fate that’s also an edge-of-your-seat thriller. Violence and farce mingle in a novel that feels as sharp, funny and bitingly bittersweet as life (Booker Judges, 2024)
Barrett’s superb debut novel deepens the world of his two short-story collections… The novel has the tension of a gritty noir thriller and the comic menace of a Pinter play
Barrett can sustain a narrative across a novel without sacrificing the panache and precision that has made him one of the most stylish fiction writers at work today. His prose is a delight from the first page
Wild Houses realises life in full and without pity... A palpable sense of human eccentricity, and endurance, is always there, just beneath the surface
All stars
Most relevant
Excellent evocation of a particular, small town community. Full of humour and nerve jangling tension. Though the plot arch didn't seem to quite match the superlative writing.

Gripping, brilliantly written atmospheric novella

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It is almost unbearably convincing on how bad luck can leave good people vulnerable to manipulation by the unscrupulous, and how bad luck can become self-perpetuating if you aren’t careful. Oh dear, that makes it sound very solemn, which it absolutely isn’t at all: the writing is witty and sharp, the dialogue terrific and the turns of phrase laugh-out-loud funny. It is packed as full of good things as a plum pudding - highly recommended.

A great listen, Gripping, moving, and plenty of wry smiles too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully written literary crime
Story depicting a community in small town Ireland - a kidnap, drug money, family trauma - brilliant

Wonderfully drawn characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
it's easy to see Barrett's background in contemporary short stories in this novel. Some of the descriptive writing, characterisation and dialogue is exceptional but the step from short story to novel needs more narrative energy. Indeed there is more backstory and introspection than forward momentum. The plot line can be condensed into a couple of sentences. I'm not expecting twist a minute but a little more incident in this thriller would have improved what is a promising first novel. Whilst the narration is good some of the accents used appear inauthentic for Mayo

small-town gangsters begad

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great wee Irish yarn. I don't think there is a lot more for me to say but I will be looking for more from the author.

loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews