The Wild Laughter

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The Wild Laughter

By: Caoilinn Hughes

Narrated by: Chris O'Dowd

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About this listen

It’s 2008, and the Celtic Tiger has left devastation in its wake. Brothers Hart and Cormac Black are waking up to a very different Ireland – one that widens the chasm between them and brings their beloved father to his knees. Facing a devastating choice that will put their livelihoods – and even their lives – on the line, the brothers soon learn that the biggest danger comes when there is nothing to lose.

A sharp snapshot of a family and a nation suddenly unmoored, this epic-in-miniature explores cowardice and sacrifice, faith rewarded and abandoned, the stories we tell ourselves and the ones we resist. Hilarious, poignant and utterly fresh, The Wild Laughter cements Caoilinn Hughes’s position as one of Ireland’s most audacious, nuanced and insightful young writers.

Family Life

Fiction

Genre Fiction

Witty

Funny

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Critic reviews

‘Caoilinn Hughes is a writer of immense ability and vitality – she’s a true natural, with the talent to match her ambition.’ (Kevin Barry, author of Night Boat to Tangier)

'So funny and bleak. I loved the madness, the tone, the ending, the realisation, The Third Policeman charge of the whole thing.’ (Roddy Doyle, Booker prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha)

'Extraordinary... A book of wicked intelligence and tender heart.' (Max Porter, author of Lanny)

Most relevant

Chris O'Dowd brought this story to life and it was his energy and perceptiveness that kept me engaged. The Wild Laughter felt too mapped out. What was missing were more subtle and layered observations that came from the gut. My wish was that Caoilinn Hughes had tried less and been more present within "the landscape" of the lives she has portrayed.