The amusements

12.50

In the resort town of Tramore, County Waterford, visitors arrive in waves with the tourist season, reliving the best days of their childhoods at the seaside amusements. Local teenager Helen is indifferent to the charm of her surroundings; infatuated with her glamorous classmate Stella, she yearns to escape with her to art college, and from there, the world. But leaving is easier said than done. With an alcoholic father and an unsympathetic mother, Helen’s free-falling family may wreck her dream, just as it seems to be within reach. As it follows Helen, Stella and their families’ and neighbours’ lives over two decades ‘The Amusements’ is an unforgettable story about roads taken and not taken. It is a brilliantly observed portrait of life in a small town, echoing with truth and compassion.

Quantity
SKU: 9780241994948 Category: Tag:

Description

‘Unputdownable . . . one of the best novels of the year’ Sunday Independent

*Shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in association with Listowel Writers’ Week*

In the seaside town of Tramore, County Waterford, visitors arrive in waves with the tourist season, reliving the best days of their childhoods in its caravan parks, chippers and amusement arcades.

Local teenager Helen Grant is indifferent to the charm of her surroundings; she dreams of escaping to art college with her glamorous classmate Stella Swaine and, from there, taking on the world. But leaving Tramore is easier said than done. Though they don’t yet know it, Helen and Stella’s lives are pulled by tides beyond their control.

Following the Grant and Swaine families and their neighbours over three decades, The Amusements is a luminous and unforgettable story about roads taken and not taken – and a brilliantly observed portrait of a small-town community.
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THIS BOOK is EVERYTHING’ Marian Keyes

‘Flannery’s flawed, hopeful characters live and grow on the page’ ANNE ENRIGHT, author of The Gathering

‘Quietly beautiful . . . Flannery’s characters are very well drawn, as is her understanding of small-town mores and idle gossip. It’s a book that leaves and impression long after the final page’ IRISH INDEPENDENT

‘Effortless, perceptive, and hugely entertaining – I loved it’ DONAL RYAN, author of Strange Flowers

‘A cracker of a book’ KATHLEEN MAC MAHON, author of Nothing But Blue Sky

‘Fantastic . . . we were gripped’ STELLAR

‘If you like dark humour, superbly drawn characters, caravan parks, fish suppers and slot machines, The Amusements is what you’ve been waiting for’ JAN CARSON, author of The Fire Starters

‘A joy to read’ LOUISE NEALON, author of Snowflake

‘A brilliant book. I loved meeting all these characters, who jumped off the page and stayed in my head’ RÓISÍN INGLE

‘Brilliant. Dramatic, heartfelt, sometimes shocking and sad’ IRISH EXAMINER

Additional information

Weight 0.17 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 1.5 cm
Book_author

Flannery, Aingeala

Publisher

Penguin Books

Imprint

Penguin Books

Cover

Paperback

Pages

256

Language

English

Edition

1st paperback ed

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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