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Holding Her Breath

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A young woman comes of age in the shadow of her family's tragic past

When Beth Crowe starts university, she is shadowed by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. Free to create a fresh identity for herself, she finds herself among people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. She embarks on a secret relationship - and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows.

Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition and grief - and a young woman coming fully into her powers.

'A beautiful coming-of-age story told with impressive skill and lightness of touch . . . I absolutely loved it' LOUISE O'NEILL

'Precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read' RODDY DOYLE

'A nimble account of student life with a darkly enjoyable undercurrent of secrecy and emotional turmoil' SARA BAUME

'Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page' DOIREANN NÍ GHRÍOFA, author of A Ghost in the Throat

'Brilliantly realised, gripping, and moving . . . This is absolutely the real thing' KEVIN POWER

© Eimear Ryan 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Urban Women's Fiction Tear-jerking

Critic reviews

Funny, dark and unexpected (Kevin Power)
A stunning debut from this new Irish talent, as well as being an exciting page turner it's also a perfect depiction of how it feels to be lost as you embark on a new chapter of your life
From the first sentence to the last, this is a great piece of writing - precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read (Roddy Doyle)
Richly accomplished . . . a true pleasure to read (Dermot Bolger)
A moving debut with a satisfying conclusion
Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page. To read this book is to feel it blaze to life. I can't stop thinking about it (Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of A Ghost in the Throat)
A beautiful coming-of-age story told with impressive skill and lightness of touch. It marks the arrival of an exciting new voice on the Irish literary scene, one whom I can't wait to hear more from. I absolutely loved it (Louise O'Neill)
Whip-smart observations and addictive prose
Effortlessly weaving together a gripping, multi-layered plot, while maintaining a profoundly tender touch, Ryan has marked herself as a captivatingly original voice in Irish literature
A delicious read . . . A nimble account of student life with a darkly enjoyable undercurrent of secrecy and emotional turmoil (Sara Baume)
All stars
Most relevant
My favourite audible yet! The story unfolds at a lovely pace and the narration is so enjoyable. I kept having to remind myself that this is a work of fiction because this book creates such a vivid world. Was totally gripped right til the end.

Stunning!

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I didn't see the point of this story. I found the narration terrible. The last couple of chapters seemed rushed and that the author wanted to wrap everything up in a tidy bow. It was really not for me.

Pointless

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