All the Little Guns Went Bang, Bang, Bang - Brossura

Mackay, Neil

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1908754281 ISBN 13: 9781908754288

Casa editrice: Freight Books, 2013

Riassunto

A blackly comic tale of two 11-year-old psychopaths who go on a murderous rampage in their small Northern Irish town

Pearse Furlong and May-Belle Mulholland are two normal 11-year-olds meeting one summer in small town Antrim, Northern Ireland, in the early 1980s. They have little in common except a shared experience of violent, abusive parents. They form an unlikely alliance, and as their games and shared fantasies spin out of control, their friendship becomes something much darker, with theft, arson, sickening brutality, and eventually murder all lying ahead. A veteran of 20 years of reporting on children who kill, as well as many of the biggest stories during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, award-winning journalist Neil Mackay has created a shocking, pitch black debut novel. Through blackly comic and often visceral prose, he not only demonstrates his deep understanding for his subject but also an extraordinary empathy for children damaged by society’s neglect. In Pearce and May-Belle he has created an unforgettable folie à deux and a coruscating satire on the brutality that many prefer to ignore.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

Neil Mackay creates a vivid and, at times, heart-rending portrait of two awkward and strangely tender children, driven to terrifying acts of random cruelty by the brutal yet casual abuse of their home lives, and by the wider climate of violence in the Ulster of kneecappings and car bombs... this powerful, dark novel is both compelling and necessary, an honest and unflinching study of how violence begets violence, and how the grief of the downtrodden leads to ever more desperate cries for help. -- John Burnside, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Prize.

Powerfully written... Violence spatters the book... a splendidly compelling debut -- The Herald

Mackay makes clear his view that violence begets violence and this moral lesson is delivered with a visceral, often shocking prose that cuts to the quick but can make for uncomfortable reading. -- The Irish Times

...[A] splendid debut... Mackay's skillful writing, grounding the pair in authentic family histories, makes Pearse and May-Belle rounded souls despite the terrible things they do. -- --The Skinny
I couldn t put the book down yesterday, I read it from start to finish in a oner, and I thought it was beautifully written, there s this extraordinary balancing act of brutality and lightness of touch where we really believe in these little children with their innocent souls, we re really rooting for them. -- Janice Forsyth, presenter of BBC Radio Scotland's The Culture Studio

...this grim, vivid work is a fine evocation of childhood and a passionate critique of a society that has lost its soul. -- The Guardian

...compare the book with others, like To Kill A Mockingbird, The Member of the Wedding or The Catcher in the Rye ... Mackay, a gifted journalist and broadcaster, is batting in some very heavy literary company indeed. -- --Scottish Review of Books

A heart-rending study on human unravelling ... the voice of a child is used to searing effect. --The Irish News
I couldn t put the book down yesterday, I read it from start to finish in a oner, and I thought it was beautifully written, there s this extraordinary balancing act of brutality and lightness of touch where we really believe in these little children with their innocent souls, we re really rooting for them. -- Janice Forsyth, presenter of BBC Radio Scotland's The Culture Studio

A heart-rending study on human unravelling ... the voice of a child is used to searing effect. -- The Irish News

...compare the book with others, like To Kill A Mockingbird, The Member of the Wedding or The Catcher in the Rye ... Mackay, a gifted journalist and broadcaster, is batting in some very heavy literary company indeed. -- --Scottish Review of Books

A heart-rending study on human unravelling ... the voice of a child is used to searing effect. --The Irish News

'Don't embark on this book lightly. Don't toss it into your bag with the sun cream and the Cokes as you head off to the beach or park. Rather, select a time when the house is empty. Put the mobile on silent and secret yourself away, because you will not welcome any distractions once you have started this novel.' -- Puffin Review

'The ambitious historical sweep of this debut... is held together by its rich narrative voice, which refracts everything through the twinned consciousness of Pearse and May-Belle.' --The Literary Review

A heart-rending study on human unravelling ... the voice of a child is used to searing effect. --The Irish News

L'autore:

Neil Mackay is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist, newspaper executive, non-fiction author, radio broadcaster, filmmaker, and playwright. He was a launch editor of the Sunday Herald newspaper, and has written for the Observer, Scotland on Sunday, Ireland's Sunday Tribune, the Age, and most newspapers in Northern Ireland. His last film, an investigation into the rise of the far right in Europe and America, was nominated for a BAFTA. He is the author of The War on Truth.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Freight Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1908754281
• ISBN 13: 9781908754288
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 274