Wild Houses - by Colin Barrett (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The riotous, raucous, and deeply resonant debut novel from "one of the best story writers in the English language today" (Financial Times), Wild Houses follows two outsiders caught in the crosshairs of a small-town revenge kidnapping gone awry. With his acclaimed and award-winning collections Young Skins and Homesickness Colin Barrett cemented his reputation as one of contemporary Irish literature's most daring stylists. Praised by Oprah Daily as "a doyen of the sentence," and by the Los Angeles Times as a writer of "unique genius," Barrett now expands his canvas with a debut novel that contains as much grit, plot, and linguistic energy as any of his celebrated short stories. As Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, introspective loner Dev answers his door on Friday night to find Doll English-younger brother of small-time local dealer Cillian English-bruised and in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, County Mayo's fraternal enforcers and Dev's cousins. Dev's quiet homelife is upturned as he is quickly and unwillingly drawn headlong into the Ferdias' frenetic revenge plot against Cillian. Meanwhile, Doll's girlfriend, seventeen-year-old Nicky, reeling from a fractious Friday and plagued by ghosts and tragedy of her own, sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina. Set against Barrett's trademark depictions of small-town Irish life, Wild Houses is a thrillingly told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence"--

Book Synopsis

The riotous, raucous and deeply resonant debut novel from "one of the best story writers in the English language today" (Financial Times) Wild Houses follows two outsiders caught in the crosshairs of a small-town revenge kidnapping gone awry

With his acclaimed and award-winning collections Young Skins and Homesickness Colin Barrett cemented his reputation as one of contemporary Irish literature's most daring stylists. Praised by the Oprah Daily as "a doyen of the sentence," and by the Los Angeles Times as a writer of "unique genius," Barrett now expands his canvas with a debut novel that contains as much grit, plot, and linguistic energy as any of his celebrated short stories.

As Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, introspective loner Dev answers his door on Friday night to find Doll English-- younger brother of small-time local dealer Cillian English--bruised and in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, County Mayo's fraternal enforcers and Dev's cousins. Dev's quiet homelife is upturned as he is quickly and unwillingly drawn headlong into the Ferdias' frenetic revenge plot against Cillian. Meanwhile, Doll's girlfriend, seventeen-year-old Nicky, reeling from a fractious Friday and plagued by ghosts and tragedy of her own, sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina.

Set against Barrett's trademark depictions of small town Irish life, Wild Houses is thrillingly-told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence.

Review Quotes

Praise for Wild Houses

"Barrett's dialogue, spiked with the timbre of Irish speech
and shards of local slang, makes these characters sound so close you'll be
wiping their spittle off your face... Despite moments of violence that tear
through the plot, the most arresting scenes are those of anticipated brutality,
perfectly drawn vignettes that capture the lives of people caught in this
deadly trade... Clearly, those years of writing short stories have given Barrett
an appreciation for how fit every sentence must be; there isn't a slacker in
this trim book. Even the asides and flashbacks hurtle the whole project forward
toward a climax that feels equally tensile and poignant, like some strange
cloak woven from wire and wool." --Ron Charles, Washington Post

"A heartbreaker of a debut novel... Nicky -- and her quest -- is
the soul of this fine novel. In Colin Barrett's nimble hands... the lives of a
small collective of mournful souls become vibrant before us, and their yearning
is depicted with wistfulness, no small amount of humor and one dangerously
ill-tempered goat." --Dennis Lehane, New York Times Book Review

"[A] short, deftly written novel... The kidnapping serves as a
binding device, bringing together a small, carefully drawn cast of characters
under unusual, high-pressure circumstances... The release of that pressure is
sometimes violent, but it is also revelatory." --New Yorker

"Barrett soars into the tier of Kevin Barry and Sally
Rooney, both influences, but his grim yet tender vision of humanity
distinguishes his tale... Wild Houses is akin to a Yo-Yo Ma concert at
Carnegie Hall: Barrett's pitch is perfect, the acoustics divine. He metes out
his dialogue in syncopated bits, reminiscent of Barry but less slapstick. While
a cheeky humor thrums throughout the novel, Barrett isn't particularly
interested in redemption or even plain decency... Unfurls like a controlled
detonation, rich with wonder and catharsis." --Hamilton Cain, Minneapolis
Star Tribune

"Memorable,
character driven, and distinguished by the author's beautiful style... This
carefully plotted novel, with its superbly realized Irish setting, is a
generous gift to readers." --Booklist (starred review)

"Irish
writing is on fire and full of ballsy young upstarts like Barrett. This dark,
raucous debut novel is about two outsiders who get caught up in a kidnapping in
small-town Ireland. Expect drugs, wild parties and revenge, as well as rich
language and vibrant characters." --Sunday Times

"Ever since
Barrett's short-story collection Young Skins appeared in 2014, the publishing
world has been awaiting his novel. Edgy and sharp, it's a tale of a kidnap and
small-time drug dealers in County Mayo. Sally Rooney and Anne Enright are fans,
which tells you something." --Financial Times

"Another
year, another rush of novels by hot Irish talent. Barrett has already produced
two rapturously received short story collections. This, his debut novel,
centres on the kidnapping of a teenage boy in a west Ireland town, before
spooling outwards to explore its impact on those who know him. His short
stories prove Barrett knows how to craft a beautiful sentence that simmers with
impending violence. This nastily slow-burn chiller is shaping up to be one of
the novels of the year." --Daily Mail

"Another
much-anticipated Irish debut is Colin Barrett's raucous Wild Houses,
about two unfortunate recluses who are dragged into the surreal and violent
underbelly of their small town." --I-D

"A humour-inflected revenge fantasy involving
interactions between dealers, enforcers and various other locals in a small
Irish town." - Globe and Mail

"A remarkably resonant portrait of everyday lives in
Ireland. Barrett's gritty and raucous first novel features the hallmarks of his
acclaimed short story collections Homesickness (a New York Times
Best Book) and Young Skins: linguistic dexterity in the service of fully
realized characters and vivid depictions of hard-scrabble small-town Irish
life." --Library Journal

"This strange and beautiful novel brings to life an entire world. Wild Houses is a book not just to read but to live inside."--Sally Rooney

"Vivid, controlled, very funny, and very moving - Barrett has the kind of pure writing chops that are vanishingly rare." -- Kevin Barry

"Colin Barrett quietly, insistently, writes so deeply into his characters you could reach out and touch them. Wild Houses is a gift of true storytelling and Barrett's talent burns up the page."-- Anne Enright

"Wild Houses is swift, tender, and honest. It's been a long time since I've been so worried, so heartbroken, so moved by a set of funny misfits. Barrett is one of our keenest observers of the miraculous amid the everyday and of the uncommon beauty of common things, the power of attention. When I finished this novel, I desperately wanted to call Dev, Doll, or Nicky, just to see if they were okay, to see if everything had turned out alright. A brilliant novel." -- Brandon Taylor

"Wild Houses has a rare momentum that comes from the rhythms of the sentences, the vivid descriptions and the brilliantly chosen details. The momentum emerges also from the depth and complexity of the main characters and the wide sweep of the narrative. In a small town in the west of Ireland over a few days, a whole world, memorable and edgy, is captured for the reader." -- Colm Tóibín

"Vivid and wild, funny and chilling - Wild Houses is the business." -- Roddy Doyle

"Colin Barrett proved with his short stories that he's not only one of the most stylistically gifted writers working now, but also one of the most generous. His first novel, Wild Houses, is deft, intricate, unique -- restorative in its refusal to be anything but itself. He is a talent of the rarest kind." -- Nicole Flattery

"Colin Barrett made us wait for this one, and it was worth it. Sharp and affecting, expansive and playful, Barrett has written a gorgeous novel filled with gorgeous sentences. A dream to read, and no doubt destined to be one of the novels of the year." --Michael Magee, author of Close to Home

Praise for Colin Barrett

"[Barrett] writes what he knows, but he also writes to discover what he doesn't know, a simple but crucial distinction you can sense instinctively, no matter how many of his compatriots you've already read."-- Los Angeles Times

"Exact and poetic... One sign of [Barrett's] striking maturity as a writer is that his characters stay in character... Mr. Barrett does foundational things exceedingly well -- structure, choices of (and switches in) perspective -- without drawing attention to them... His judgment is better than authoritative; it is imaginative and enlarging." -- New York Times

"Superb... There is an utterness to his attention, a devotion to the lives of his characters, that shifts the work into some more lasting place. Barrett is already one of the leading writers of the Irish short story, which is to braggingly say, one of the leading writers of the short story anywhere. He means every word and regrets every word. He just kills it." -- Guardian

"Barrett's voice, though bolstered by Irish tradition, is entirely his own." -- New Yorker

"Many a writer claims mastery of technique, but few deliver at the level of Colin Barrett, whose roving perspectives, lopped-off endings and Kevin Barry-esque dialogue dazzle...Barrett is a doyen of the sentence; each snaps and sings like a bullwhip."--Oprah Daily

"No matter how grim a given scene by Barrett can get, it's a thrill to be alive to hear him." ― Paris Review

"Barrett proves that writing what you know can yield subversive and innovative results."― Bustle

"Barrett simply outwrites many of his peers with a chilling confidence that suggests there is far more beneath the surface than merely the viciously effective black humour." ― Irish Times

"Mesmerizingly powerful... I've learned so much from Colin Barrett's work as a reader and writer." -- Sally Rooney

"Colin Barrett, like all great storytellers, has the ability to weave a broader chronicle of Ireland out of stories that remain intimate, powerful and regional. Out of the local, the universal appears. He defines the many shades of the present time and suggests a compelling future. He is a writer to savour and look out for." ― Colum McCann

"Language, structure, style -- Colin Barrett has all the weapons at his disposal." ― Kevin Barry

"No story writer at work today thrills me more than Colin Barrett, whose characters feel immediately so familiar and true in their capacity to maim and love." -- Brandon Taylor

About the Author

Colin Barrett was born in 1982 and grew up in County Mayo. In 2009 he was awarded the Penguin Ireland Prize. Homesickness was named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, and Young Skins won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the Guardian First Book Award, and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. His work has been published in The New Yorker, A Public Space, Granta, and The Stinging Fly. In 2015, Barrett was named a National Book Foundation "5 Under 35."