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Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED NOVELS OF 2025 AS SELECTED BY THE OBSERVER, THE IRISH TIMES, JOURNAL.IE, RTE GUIDE AND SUNDAY TIMES IRELAND


The deeply moving story of the O’Connor family, its troubled past in the West of Ireland, and a love story of second chances from the Booker-longlisted author of How to Build a Boat'

Claire O’Connor’s life has been on hold since she broke up with Tom Morton and moved from London back home to the rugged West of Ireland to care for her dying father. But glimpses of her old life are sure to follow when Tom unexpectedly moves nearby. As Claire is thrown into a love she thought she’d left behind, she questions if Tom has come for her or for himself.

Living in her childhood home brings its own challenges. While Claire tries to maintain a normal life – getting lost online, going to work and minding her own business – Tom’s return stirs up haunting memories trapped within the walls of the old family house.

Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way is a story of love and resilience, rich with history and drama, and the legacies of violence and redemption. As the secrets of the past are revealed, Claire must confront whether she can escape her history to make a future for herself.

Elaine Feeney is one of Irish literature's most gifted and persuasive storytellers' SINÉAD GLEESON

'An uncanny understanding of the workings of the human heart. I loved this book' LOUISE KENNEDY

'Full of humanity, a story for our times' MARY COSTELLO

© Elaine Feeney 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural World Literature Heartfelt England

Critic reviews

One of Ireland’s shining literary stars...an energetic and vivid voice'
Feeney’s astute lyricism makes for a marvellously engaging story
One of Irish literature's most gifted and persuasive storytellers. (Sinéad Gleeson)
An uncanny understanding of the workings of the human heart. I loved this book. (Louise Kennedy)
This book touched my soul ... A perfect depiction of the complicated relationships we have with ourselves and our histories. (Katriona O'Sullivan)
Lulls the reader with its lyrical beauty, then slowly devastates with its raw passion and pain ... Shocking, intelligent and full of humanity, this is a story for our times. (Mary Costello)
A very strong novel and I was gripped by it throughout (Alex Clark)
Hugely powerful ...likely one of the most original you'll read this year (Daily Mail)
Expertly balances light and darkness, in a story that grips and engages... Sizzling, electric ... charged with humour and anger, reinvigorating and unexpected ...I loved it so (Jenny Mustard)
Superb... Feeney examines everything from intergenerational trauma and violence to tradwives, with insight, wit and compassion
All stars
Most relevant
Honest with siblings as in do we ever really know what’s going on with any of them

Irish family

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I’m glad I was patient as it’s a well written and narrated story. As with a lot of books looking back in Ireland, there’s a weight to it that you have to absorb. Elaine is a very good writer, there’s no doubt about that. As in real lift, the characters in the book were not always likable but I guess that really is real life.
Worth a listen for sure.

Took me a while to get into it

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Loved 'How to Build a Boat' and enjoyed this as much. Great cast of characters skillfully dealt with. I also thought Elaine did a super job on the narration.

intense Family Story

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Enjoyed it all, & loved listening to Elaine reading it, and bringing her characters to life.

Claire

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Thoroughly engaging, though challenging story. It is horrific in parts and more so because it rings true in Irish society and history. Skilful writing and lovely narration from the author. Different from the previous book, How to Build a Boat.

Complicated and intricate

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