Description
Selected as a Book of the Year in 2017 in the Irish Times and The Times
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2017
'A delicate, crystalline, hugely impressive novel... He's yet another masterful younger writer coming through... Wonderful' - Sebastian Barry
Her house is on Montpelier Parade - just across town, but it might as well be a different world. Sonny is fixing a crumbling wall in the garden when he sees her for the first time, coming down the path towards him. Vera.
Vera is older, wealthier, sophisticated, but chance meetings quickly become shy arrangements, and soon Sonny is in love for the first time. But there is something unsettling that Vera is keeping from him. Unfolding in the sea-bright Dublin of early spring, Montpelier Parade is an indelible novel about the things that remain unspoken between lovers. It is about how deeply we can connect with one another, and the choices we must make alone.
Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2017
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2017
Vera is beautiful and unknowable; Sonny is young and hungry for the world. Their connection changes everything.
About the Author
Karl Geary was born in Dublin. His widely acclaimed debut Montpelier Parade was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and for Newcomer of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. Karl lives in Glasgow with his wife and daughter.
Reviews
A delicate, crystalline, hugely impressive novel by Karl Geary. He's yet another masterful younger writer coming through. But these writers aren't just promising, they are arriving fully fledged, like a bunch of Hemingways and Waughs. (A pride of Hemingways?) This is language on the side of life, suggesting life, giving life. Wonderful. -- Sebastian Barry
Intensely powerful. * Sunday Mirror *
Luminous...brilliantly paced, full of tension and tenderness. * Irish Times *
Few novelists debut with a masterpiece, but Geary has done just that. Stunning. * Mail on Sunday *
Montpelier Parade is haunting - a portrayal of loneliness that is eerily beautiful and desperately moving -- Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies
Luminous and moving. A story that asks who you can love and how, and a novel that gets to the heart of things; it certainly got to the heart of me. -- Sunjeev Sahota
A genuine talent. * Daily Mail *
The precision in his prose bellies his training as a scriptwriter; the plot unfolds with self-assured ease, and the dialogue lives on the page... He trusts his reader, and the novel has compulsive power because of it. An astonishing debut. -- Calen O'Hanlon * Skinny *
A groundbreaking debut. Montpelier Parade is a taut, riveting, beautifully sparse coming of age tale from a fearless new talent -- Tea Obreht, National Book Award Finalist & New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger's Wife
I hope that someone will give me an advance copy... I've heard it's lyrical, brave and inventive - everything I look for in a novel. -- Maggie O'Farrell * Observer, Book of the Year *
A bittersweet love story... An unusually vivid novel, which presents life how it is, rather than how Hollywood script writers might like it to be. * Press Association *
Karl's depiction of his home-town is so visceral you can almost feel the dreich air seeping into your bones as you read.... Karl's acute observations perfectly capture the essence of boyhood bewilderment and bravado. This is an unusually vivid novel that presents life how it is. -- Kate Whiting * UK Press Syndication *
A tender, real tale of love...a captivating debut from the Dublin-born author... A luminous, moving story that is full of heart. * Image *
Hypnotic and involving. * Sunday Express S Magazine *
I adored this unconventional love story. It's tender, with luminous language, and should catapult the author to literary fame. * Irish Examiner *
Awards
Short-listed for Costa First Novel Award 2018 (UK) and writers guild best first novel 2018 (UK) and Waverton Good Read Award 2018 (UK) and Bord G is Energy Irish Book Awards - Newcomer of the Year 2017 (UK). Long-listed for Desmond Elliott Prize 2017 (UK).
Book Information
ISBN 9781784705664
Author Karl Geary
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 170g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 15mm