Eggshells, Caitriona Lally
Eggshells, Caitriona Lally
2 Rating(s)
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
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Eggshells

Author: Caitriona Lally

Narrator: Alana Kerr Collins

Unabridged: 7 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/14/2017

Synopsis

A whimsical, touching debut about loneliness, friendship, and hopeVivian doesn’t feel like she fits in—and never has. As a child, she was so whimsical that her parents told her she was “left by fairies.” Now, she is living alone in Dublin, where the neighbors treat her like she’s crazy, her older sister condescends to her, social workers seem to have registered her as troubled, and she hasn’t a friend in the world.So, she decides it’s time to change her life: She begins by advertising for a friend. Not just any friend. She wants one named Penelope.Meanwhile, she roams the city, mapping out a new neighborhood every day, seeking her escape route to a better world, the other world her parents told her she came from.And then one day someone named Penelope answers her ad for a friend. And from that moment on, Vivian’s life begins to change.Debut author Caitriona Lally offers readers an exhilaratingly fresh take on the Irish love for lyricism, humor, and inventive wordplay in a book that is, in itself, deeply charming, and deeply moving.

About Caitriona Lally

Caitriona Lally studied English literature in Trinity College Dublin. She has worked as an abstract writer and copywriter as well as a home helper in New York and an English teacher in Japan. She has traveled extensively around Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. Her novel Eggshells was short-listed for the 2015 Irish Book Award for Newcomer of the Year.

About Alana Kerr Collins

Alana Kerr Collins is an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. She is also an actor, puppeteer, and singer who studied at the Impulse Company in London and earned a BA in drama and English at the University of Dublin, Trinity College. She starred in the short films Rachel 9000, The Deal, and Veritas and has appeared in several television series, including Emu and Big City Park.

Reviews

Goodreads review by karen on April 16, 2019

I used to bring home damp and gleaming shells, I used to think if I found the perfect shell I would find the shape of the world, but I was always disappointed. When I washed them later, their sea-gleam would trickle down the sink, leaving a dull sheen the colour of dry lament. this book is 100% chara......more

Goodreads review by Jay on August 23, 2018

This is a stunning book, written with insight, empathy, and a deft mastery of tone and language. I've read a lot of reviews that focus on the quirkiness and sweetness of Vivian, the protagonist, which is a testament to Lally's superb writing, because this book is, if anything, a penetrating, powerfu......more

Goodreads review by Doug on November 22, 2020

4.5, rounded up. So ... here's the deal - superficially this is VERY similar to last year's Booker winner Milkman - both concern outcast, quirky young women in Ireland who live inside their heads and comment internally about their life, their families, their neighbors, etc., with not a heck of a lot......more

Quotes

“Inventive, funny, and, ultimately, moving.” Guardian (London)

“Full of action and humor…The black comedy gives the book a jaunty quality that complements the dazzling trip around Dublin.” Irish Times

“Delightfully quirky…Vivian’s voice alone is enough to keep us reading, charmed by her unique brand of manic, word-hoarding wit.” Irish Independent

“A love letter to Dublin as well as the incantatory and transformative powers of language. Indeed, Vivian’s voice is the real enchantment of this warm, witty debut.” Library Journal (starred review)

“A whimsical jaunt through Dublin and a modern take on many old Irish folktales…Humorous, charming, and original.” Booklist

“This urban fairy tale delivers something that is both subtle and profound in its examination of the human soul. Magically delicious.” Kirkus Reviews

“Vivian’s fascination with wordplay echoes Lally’s knack for language, and this emphasis is one of the great charms of Eggshells, a sweetly off-kilter novel about loneliness, communication, and finding one’s place in the world.” Shelf Awareness

“Narrator Alana Kerr Collins has the Irish accent that this story, set in Dublin, requires…Collins gives Vivian a voice that sounds confident as she makes plans and puzzled as she tries to work out why the plans don’t succeed. She even manages to inject life into the many lists that Vivian recites. A unique mix of whimsy, humor, sadness, and hope make Vivian a character listeners will want to root for.” AudioFile

Awards

  • Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award
  • Indie Next List
  • LibraryReads Pick
  • New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice
  • Amazon Best Books of the Year
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