Trespasses
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Brid Brennan
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By:
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Louise Kennedy
About this listen
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
“Brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking.”—J.Courtney Sullivan, New York Times Book Review
“TRESPASSES vaults Kennedy into the ranks of such contemporary masters as McCann, Claire Keegan, Colin Barrett, and fellow Sligo resident, Kevin Barry.”—Oprah Daily
Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a shattering novel about a young woman caught between allegiance to community and a dangerous passion.
Amid daily reports of violence, Cushla lives a quiet life with her mother in a small town near Belfast, teaching at a parochial school and moonlighting at her family’s pub. There she meets Michael Agnew, a Protestant barrister who’s made a name for himself defending IRA members. Against her better judgment, Cushla lets herself get drawn in by him and his sophisticated world, and an affair ignites. Then the father of a student is savagely beaten, setting in motion a chain reaction that will threaten everything, and everyone, Cushla most wants to protect.
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Critic reviews
“Brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking. . . A rising sense of tension throughout comes to a shocking head. I am not a crier, but by the final pages of Trespasses, I was in tears. It’s a testament to Kennedy’s talents that we come to love and care so much about her characters. And that reading about a long and difficult period from the recent past feels not like history, but like a warning.”—J.Courtney Sullivan, New York Times Book Review
“Brilliantly depicted. . . . Kennedy has written a captivating first novel which manages to be beautiful and devastating in equal measure.”—The Washington Post
“Absorbing. . . . vivid, skillful. . . . wise far beyond its first book status, Trespasses vaults Kennedy into the ranks of such contemporary masters as McCann, Claire Keegan, . . . [and] Kevin Barry.”—Oprah Daily
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Bad Debts
- A Jack Irish Thriller, Book 1
- By: Peter Temple
- Narrated by: Marco Chiappi
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Jack Irish, criminal lawyer, debt collector, football lover, turf watcher, trainee cabinetmaker, and the best Australian crime character we've seen in years. When Jack receives a puzzling message from a jailed ex-client, he's too deep in misery over Fitzroy's latest loss to take much notice. Next thing Jack knows, the ex-client's dead and he's been drawn into a life-threatening investigation involving high-level corruption, dark sexual secrets, shonky property deals and murder.
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The story was all over the place
- By Beth on 07-22-24
By: Peter Temple
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The German House
- By: Annette Hess
- Narrated by: Nina Franoszek
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
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Set against the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963, Annette Hess’ international best seller is a harrowing yet ultimately uplifting coming-of-age story about a young female translator - caught between societal and familial expectations and her unique ability to speak truth to power - as she fights to expose the dark truths of her nation’s past.
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Just ok
- By Jennifer on 12-16-19
By: Annette Hess
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Sweet Sorrow
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- By: David Nicholls
- Narrated by: Rory Kinnear
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From the best-selling author of One Day comes a bittersweet and brilliantly funny coming-of-age tale about the heart-stopping thrill of first love - and how just one summer can forever change a life.
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A delight in every way!
- By Jennifer on 04-24-22
By: David Nicholls
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Until It's Over
- By: Nicci French
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
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Astrid Bell has known most of her roommates for years, but while they have a history together - romantic pairings, one-night stands, friendships - each of them also has a past. Astrid is on her way home one day when her neighbor knocks her off her bike. Seeing she is bruised but not broken, her roommates help her home. The next day, they learn that same neighbor was beaten to death hours later. Each of them tells the police what they know and are dismissed - until Astrid stumbles over another body.
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My First Nicci French Novel recommended Goodreads
- By Beverly on 12-18-11
By: Nicci French
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Nine Elms
- Kate Marshall, Book 1
- By: Robert Bryndza
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Kate Marshall was a promising young police detective when she caught the notorious Nine Elms serial killer. But her greatest victory suddenly turned into a nightmare. Traumatized, betrayed, and publicly vilified for the shocking circumstances surrounding the cannibal murder case, Kate could only watch as her career ended in scandal. Fifteen years after those catastrophic events, Kate is still haunted by the unquiet ghosts of her troubled past. Now a lecturer at a small coastal English university, she finally has a chance to face them.
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TOO GRAPHIC FOR ME!!
- By Artkeep on 01-09-20
By: Robert Bryndza
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The Shadow Lines
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Raj Varma
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Opening in Calcutta in the 1960s, Ghosh’s radiant second novel follows two families - one English, one Bengali - as their lives intertwine in tragic and comic ways. The narrator, Indian-born and English educated, traces events back and forth in time, through years of Bengali partition and violence, observing the ways in which political events invade private lives.
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Narrator Doesn't Know How to Pronounce
- By Amazon Customer on 08-27-11
By: Amitav Ghosh
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What listeners say about Trespasses
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Janet Arnold
- 04-29-23
Love this contemporary Historic Novel
This book is a great follow up read/listen to Bono’s Surrender. And it’s a timely reminder to readers of the agony and pain of Northern Ireland in the recent time of the Troubles. The author weaves her story with just the right lessons about how conflict is influenced by culture. The narrator is superb and adds much to the story with her beautiful accent.
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- John
- 01-11-23
Boring!!!
This was mind-numbingly boring until the last few chapters. I kept going because it wasn't that long, but even so I had to skip ahead a few chapters. I got the book because I had heard it reviewed on NPR,but was very disappointed. I kept thinking "when the hell is something going to happen?
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- Debbie Ann
- 07-31-23
Didn’t Draw Me In
I so looked forward to reading this book — I love stories set in Ireland and am greatly interested in the Troubles, but I thought it was just ok. Set in Northern Ireland in the 70s during the Troubles, tells the story of a Catholic schoolteacher who takes up with an older, married, Protestant barrister, and how their worlds collide. There wasn’t a lot of momentum in the story, and I never felt the chemistry between the couple. The last 25% of the book picked up considerably, but not enough to make the first 3/4 worth it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- IrishRed
- 08-07-23
Loved it!
It’s the best book I have read in a long time. Slow, deliberate, and well-crafted. Showed the intricacies and complications of relationships set against the backdrop of the Troubles of Northern Ireland. I felt it gave a glimpse into life at that time and place. A raw and realistic portrait of the human condition.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Susan Campbell
- 04-02-23
Wonderful!
I enjoyed every minute of this book. Beautifully written. Excellently narrated. I recommend this book to everyone. Absolutely worthwhile
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- Barbara S
- 07-21-23
Loved it
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION
Thank you, GR friends Peter and Linda, for encouraging me to get Louise Kennedy’s “Trespasses”. I remain in amazement at how Kennedy blended newsreels along with her moving story about a young catholic schoolteacher during the time of the Troubles in Ireland, 1975. Kennedy showed how people existed, attempting to live “normal” lives when bombs routinely dishevel daily lives.
Cushla is a young teacher at a Catholic school. Her family owns a bar that her brother manages after her father’s tragic death. Her mother has fallen to the drink. Cushla helps at the bar in addition to caring for her dipsomaniac mother. Cushla has taken a particular caring attitude towards a young boy in her charge, Davy, who is a playground target. Adding to Davy’s problems is that he lives amongst Protestants. His father was badly injured, rendering him unable to work. His mother does her best, but she could use help.
At the start of the story, Cushla is working at the bar when she notices a man, Michael Agnew. She ascertains that he’s a Protestant (Cushla is Catholic) and he’s married. He’s a barrister who is known to defend wrongfully accused Catholic men. He persuades her to help a group of his friends to learn how to speak Irish. From here, a romance is formed.
Kennedy perfectly captures how a young woman could be attracted to a man twice her age. Cushla is the protagonist who takes the reader through her daily emotional journey. From the moment she awakes, she sees violence and fear. Yet she’s a schoolteacher who is surrounded by youthful innocence, and Kennedy cleverly peppers the story with their much-needed exuberance and simplicity. She returns home to deal with her increasingly drunken mother. School has its own hazards with pedophile, predatory and mercenary priests. You know the type, the ones who encourage “private catechism”. The Father Slattery in this story is the doppelganger to my hometown priest, Father Fox!
I listened to the audio, brilliantly narrated by Brid Brennan. Her voice brought life to the characters. If I had it to do over, I would have accompanied the audio with reading. Kennedy’s prose is such that I wanted to see it so I could get the full affect. I did rewind many times. After I completed the audio, I automatically went to the beginning, to listen again to the story. The ending will elicit a tear.
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2 people found this helpful
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- TD
- 09-16-23
Simple and moving
I loved it. The simple, matter of fact story about life and love in a not so distant Era. Touching on history in Ireland I should be more aware of but am not. I know people said it was hard to get into but I liked it right away and found the narrator's voice and cadence soothing and wished the story was longer. But then again no. it's only a book and they all can't be super happy endings, right? I think I would enjoy reading it myself as well, not just in Audible. G9 ahead try the sample, you might be hooked too.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-20-23
Wonderful
This story is so well woven together with beautiful phrasing and descriptions. A new favorite.
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- Elaineling
- 02-26-23
Trespasses
Amazing! Can’t get it out of my mind. Incredible writing- loved it!! Highly recommend it
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- Dereka Smith
- 04-14-23
Simply splendid!
This was so good I listened to it twice-- the second time right after the first. I wanted to pay more attention to the details than I had on the first listen and once I started I could not stop.
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