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Close to Home

Winner of the Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction 2023

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Brought to you by Penguin.

WINNER OF THE ROONEY PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023
WATERSTONES IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023

Sean is back. Back in Belfast and back into old habits. Back on the mad all-nighters, the borrowed tenners and missing rent, the casual jobs that always fall through. Back in these scarred streets, where the promised prosperity of peacetime has never arrived. Back among his brothers, his ma, and all the things they never talk about. Until one night Sean finds himself at a party – dog-tired, surrounded by jeering strangers, his back against the wall – and he makes a big mistake.

'Staggeringly humane, unfaltering, taut and tender... [It] feels like that rarest of things: a genuinely necessary book' Guardian

'Every detail rings true, every character is fleshy and real and heartbreaking... Michael Magee has a remarkable talent' Sunday Times

©2023 Michael Magee (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Heartfelt Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

Exceptional . . . Every detail rings true, every character is fleshy and real and heartbreaking . . . Magee has a remarkable talent
Taut and impressive, unfaltering and deftly executed . . . [It] feels like that rarest of things: a genuinely necessary book
An exceptional debut destined for novel of the year shortlists
Michael Magee is a born storyteller. By the end of the novel I wanted to book a flight to Ireland just to walk around and imagine who was where . . . I read this in two or three sittings only because I wanted to slow down and spend more time with Magee's considered and companionate writing. I finished it only last month, but plan to take it with me abroad to enjoy it once more
A vision of a post-conflict Belfast that didn't deliver what it promised, blighted by poverty, pain and memory. But far from being bleak, I laughed out loud many times. And it is full of love. Each character is so vividly drawn that I felt like I had met them somewhere before; even the most flawed of them is treated with dignity and respect, and an absence of judgement that reminded me of Annie Ernaux. And the writing! Supple, rich and demotic - Kneecap meets Chekhov - no one else is doing this. I had great hopes for this novel and Michael Magee has booted it out of the park. Absolutely glorious. (Louise Kennedy, author of 'Trespasses')
Unflinching, direct, disarmingly sensitive . . . Suffusing his narrative with honesty and grace, Magee succeeds in bringing his neighborhood to life for readers and suggests that, amid what seems like a never-ending struggle, there is always room for hope
Michael Magee's Close to Home, amazingly a first novel, is about what it's like to be young and working class right now in Northern Ireland, and is a tremendous read, tensed and immersive, punching the air between hope and despair, deeply decent, unputdownable
Wonderful. A debut overflowing with years of experience and carefully worked craft. By turns hard-edged and soft-hearted, this novel is a gift from Michael Magee to us all (Jon McGregor, author of 'Reservoir 13')
The message of Michael Magee's dead-on debut novel is universal. At its core, Close to Home is about finding a way to transcend the pain, the people and the place you're born into
A complex and compassionate portrait of modern Belfast by an impressive new talent . . . Close to Home is a working class novel, an Irish novel, a bildungsroman, a novel about the self-congratulatory failures of Northern Ireland's political elite . . . [and a] sharp deconstruction of toxic masculinity
All stars
Most relevant
I loved this book. Growing up in this era in Belfast the story sparked lots of memories.
I recognised all of the characters, as each layer was revealed about them - the mummy rang especially true.
I liked how it weaved in The Troubles, the impact they had on different generations and how this intertwined with socioeconomic status. Something that’s often overlooked in my opinion,
To me this book was a voice for many people that never got to be heard, who deserved to be.
The story was so well read - I was buzzing to hear it read by someone actually from the area. It made the it land all the better.

Brilliant listen! A voice that deserved to be heard

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Didn’t want this to end! A very real immersive depiction of working class life in Belfast

Beautiful and authentic

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Being from West Belfast I feel the narrator did a class job. Loved his story from start to finish and the characters in it. He’s left me wanting more…amazing job for a first book. Anymore to come?

Didn’t want it to end!

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I am from the area where the character grew up. It’s a strange comfort to hear a story about familiar places and characters you’re sure you’ve meet in real life, especially because the subjects are difficult at times. But I absolutely loved this book. The insight into living between two worlds is thought provoking.

Local writing about local issues

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I thought this book was great - I really enjoyed it. You root for Sean to find his way.

Highly recommended

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