Ordinary Saints cover art

Ordinary Saints

An unmissable, moving and funny exploration of family, grief and queer identity. Shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

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

Ordinary Saints

By: Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin
Narrated by: Roisin Rankin
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.11

Buy Now for £14.11

What if you had escaped your devout family in Ireland to live your best queer life - then your brother became a candidate for sainthood?

An unmissable, award-winning, moving and funny exploration of family, grief and queer identity.

*SELECTED AS A RADIO 2 BOOKCLUB PICK*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE*
*WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL PFD QUEER FICTION PRIZE*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE DISCOVERIES AWARD*
*SHORTLISTED FOR TWO BOOKS ARE MY BAG AWARDS*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE KATE O'BRIEN AWARD*
*LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY PRIZE*

Can you imagine it? I'd say to them. Can you imagine me there in the front row in Saint Peter's Square? The lesbian sister of a literal saint.

Brought up in a devout household in Ireland, Jay is now living in London with her girlfriend, determined to live day to day and not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood and herself . . .

Inspired by the author's own devout upbringing, Ordinary Saints is a brilliant debut novel from a fresh, exciting new voice which asks - who gets to decide how we are remembered - and who we will become?

*A BOOKSELLER PICK OF THE MONTH*

'Beautifully written and brilliant on grief, love and family expectations. Wonderful'
Daily Mail

'A sparkling debut. Absolutely brilliant'
Sara Cox

'Stunning. A fresh funny, honest portrayal of familial love. I adored it'
Louise Nealon, international bestselling author of Snowflake

'Funny and deeply moving. I adored it'
Chloe Michelle Howarth, author of Sunburn

'Mesmerising and original'
Victoria MacKenzie, award-winning author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain Christianity Coming of Age Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Heartfelt Funny LGBTQIA+
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

Beautifully written and brilliant on grief, love and family expectations. Wonderful.
This debut is pretty perfect. It's informative, original, heartfelt, very real, and stunningly written.
Stunning. A beautiful story about the awkward, often painful silences around dinner tables. A fresh funny, honest portrayal of familial love. I adored it.
A moving novel love, loss and life's mysteries. As someone who isn't religious, I found the exploration of canonisation in the modern age fascinating and I think this will have wide appeal.
[An] inventive exploration of identity, faith and family.
An exciting new voice on the Irish literary scene.
Funny and deeply moving. I adored it.
A truly extraordinary exploration of relationships, grief, queerness, and its relationship with the Catholic church in Ireland . . . fuelled by such complex emotions which are unpicked so delicately and fully . . . so deeply worth reading and impossible to not feel some emotional connection towards.
Mesmerising and original, Ordinary Saints is quite a novel: an empathetic, heart-felt and nuanced exploration of the Catholic church in modern Ireland, queer identity, family and so much more. I absolutely loved it.
Ordinary Saints is the best debut novel I've read in a long time. Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin is a writer of immense delicacy, perception and heart, drilling deep into questions of faith, family and love. A beautiful novel and a huge talent.
All stars
Most relevant
Good story. Interesting and sad but with heart.
Liked to learn about how saints are ‘made’

Great narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book; well-observed, wonderful characters, great descriptions. By turns sad and funny it was an excellent and very entertaining listen.

Beautifully written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a superb book. I loved the contrast between the “holy” boy child and the emotionally neglected lesbian daughter. The parents mental health issues were sympathetically dealt with also. The book reflects much of my personal struggle in Catholic Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, My solution to my dilemma was a self-imposed exile now still current after 52 years. I expressed my experience in poetry. I found J’s development and her search for love and companionship in London entirely believable.

LGBTQIA+ Irish issues

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This story was so well thought out and it perfectly captured the odd dynamics of family and each trying to live their own lives. Then, the acknowledgment of life being finite for each of us. Loved this.

Very relatable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator did a great job with a range of characters and accents. Really enjoyed the writing. Couple of glitchy edits, but good production overall

Strong narration, good characterisation, clever story telling

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