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This Is How It Ends

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This Is How It Ends

By: Kathleen MacMahon
Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
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About this listen

In her debut novel, This is How It Ends, award-winning journalist Kathleen MacMahon delivers a story on unexpected and life-changing love that won't soon be forgotten.

It begins in Autumn, 2008, on the coast of Dublin. Bruno, an American, has come to Ireland to search for his roots. Addie, an out-of-work architect, is recovering from heartbreak while taking care of her infirm father. When their worlds collide, they experience a connection unlike any they've previously felt. But soon their newfound love will be tested in ways they never imagined possible.

2012, Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards, Short-listed

2012, Irish Tatler Woman of the Year for Literature, Winner

2013, Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award, Short-listed

©2012 Kathleen MacMahon (P)2012 Hachette Digital Fiction Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

"When you have long forgotten many other fictional lovers, there is something about Addie and Bruno, their past and their world, that will not go away." (Maeve Binchy)
"It has 'future classic' written all over it." (Glamour)
"An exceptional novel . . . It is truly a story for our time. This is How it Ends signals the belated arrival of a new Irish commercial writer with an extraordinary gift and a voice that is entirely her own." (Irish Independent)
All stars
Most relevant
Great characters in this Irish family with connections to their American-Irish family. A story written with grace and insight into the vagaries of love and death between humans, animals and the glories of the planet. This story is well formed and will have you both laughing and crying at different times. Thoroughly enjoyable and one that will remain in the mind for a long time to come.

My only criticism is there are frequent lines quoted from songs and the narrator Caroline Lennon made no attempt to put the words to music which left the lyrics sounding somewhat flat and dull. Perhaps the narrator is tone deaf or did not know the tunes, but I just felt it was the one negative for an audible listen.

Beautiful and poignant

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After hearing of the huge advance Kathleen MacMahon received for this novel and the publishing hype around it I was ready to be critical ! However there needs to be more hype around this beautiful novel. It is the sort of book that you want to start listening to all over again once you've finished. It's the sort of book you want to buy for all your friends. So beautifully written and narrated I felt that I was there, living with the characters. The descriptions of the coast are so evocative I wanted to move to Ireland. In a way this is superior chick lit, superior Marian Keyes but so much more. I have struggled to find anything else to listen to since finishing this amazing novel.

Lives up to the hype

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Having read Nothing but Blue Sky by Kathleen MacMahon, which is exquisite, I eagerly bought this but it couldn’t be more different. It’s so prosaic I can’t believe it’s the same author. I’ve stopped listening the narration was so tedious.

Weak

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