Wild Houses Audiobook By Colin Barrett cover art

Wild Houses

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Wild Houses

By: Colin Barrett
Narrated by: Damian Gildea
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About this listen

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, 17-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 the thrillingly told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence.

©2024 Colin Barrett. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2024 Penguin Audio
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About the Creator-Colin Barrett

About the Creator

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."

About the Performer-Damian Gildea

About the Performer

Damian is a Sligo-born actor who trained at The Lir Academy in Dublin. Gifted and versatile with a host of Irish dialects, accents and characters. His work includes Wesley Dunne in Darklands, Paddy Bealen in the acclaimed theatre production of These Rooms by Louise Lowe & David Bolger for ANU & CoisCéim Productions at Shoreditch Townhall, and as John in Damo & Ivor The Movie by Grano Productions.

All stars
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The characters, the plot, the metaphors, the telling of the story were more than what I expected.

The narrator was superb.

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In-depth probes of the many, diverse characters added psychological interest, and the story line was suspenseful, if dark. Great dialogue throughout! But as a whole the narrative voice lacked cohesion and descriptions were overwritten in places, diminishing the impact.

Complex characters

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This is a really intriguing story that takes place in Ballina, Mayo, Ireland. The main characters are developed throughout the book and their individual circumstances, experiences and personalities are crucial to the strength of the story. Their lives and backgrounds, together with the on-going crime story that they unexpectedly find themselves part of, are developed and woven together in an ingenious way. The narration is also truly outstanding. There is no doubt that Colin Barrett and Damian Gildea are each hugely talented rising stars.

Engaging and beautiful story, excellent narration

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The narrator was absolutely amazing!! Let's have more of Damian Gildea!

This novel was spectacular--suspenseful, nuanced, humane, and beautiful. Mr. Barrett has a tremendous future ahead of him.

Sentences to make a body swoon.....

Holy Moly! What a ride!

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What attracted me initially to this story and kept me throughout the book was the author’s ability to write in a straightforward yet skillfully artistic style.

A beautifully told story connecting a most unfortunate series of circumstances.

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I found this book intriguing, scary, and sometimes a bit funny.

I loved that the author used a small bit of crime to look at the interactions between individuals, the formation and maintenance of relationships, and their internal struggles. Although at first, some of the dialogue can seem mundane, it is what was important to these characters at the time. Many times common dialogue is used to convey messages with greater weight.

In the first hour of reading, I found the heavy accent of the reader a bit thick. But, it was no problem as I became used to it. And it is thick; as thick and meaningful as the rain, threats, anger, shame, smells, and confusion.

(SMALL PLOT REVEAL) The story doesn't end with some giant twist. I actually enjoyed that. I had guessed that one character might do this, or another character might do that...but they didn't. No one became a superhero or a super-villain. They just stayed in character. That was a twist that I couldn't have anticipated.

So, yes, I very much recommend this book. It lets you into the lives of a small group who are more or less the same as everyone else. It was interesting to me to discover which (more OR less). The people are real...so, my conclusion was more.

Insider look at a small crime

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This had so much hype, but there was very little plot development. Wish I had skipped this book.

Not worth my time

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Could not follow the twists and turns nor could I care about any of the characters. Narration was awkward with dozens of “said” interrupting thought processes. I’ve trued twice. Meh

What happened?

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After listening for a couple of hours, I just got bored. The characters are completely uninterested to me, as is the plot which I’m sure we’ll develop at some point. I just haven’t reached that point yet.

Not worth my time or money

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