Review
------
"A highly unusual tale set in a highly unusual Irish
village full of dark secrets and engaging characters (not all of
them still alive). Lushly imagined, delightfully original and
very, very funny, it hurtles along from the very first page. A
hugely enjoyable read. I can't wait for more from Jess
Kidd."--M.L. Stedman, bestselling author of The Light Between
Oceans
"Jess Kidd is a genius. Her prose sparkles with wit, savagery and
startling originality. I loved it."--Tasha Kavanagh, author of
Things We Have In Common
"I love this book. It's a magic realist murder mystery set in
rural Ireland, in which the dead play as important a part as the
living. It's one of those books that has you smiling as you read,
and that you plan to read again very soon."--Louis de Bernières,
bestselling author of Corelli's Mandolin
"[A] fast-paced yarn that nimbly soars above the Irish crime
fiction genre Kidd clearly knows very well."--New York Times Book
Review
"Over in Dublin, Jess Kidd's Himself is her supernaturally
skillful debut. Irish eyes are glowing."--Vanity Fair
"For the love of all that's right and true in the world, you've
got to read Jess Kidd's debut Himself (Atria), a fabulously
imaginative, darkly comic Irish tale set 'in the arse-end of
beyond' in a village called Mulderigg. Reading this picaresque
novel is like nursing a pint in a pub while a seanchaí, a
traditional storyteller, trills the air with magic and mystery
and a local modulates the narrative with irreverent commentary
from a stool in the corner...In Mahony, the author has created a
literary descendant of Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones" (also a
foundling with parental issues), and in Mulderigg she's imagined
a literary neighborhood akin to Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Macondo,
a place populated with eccentric characters, living and dead. The
plot races to an ending of Biblical proportions (as most Irish
tales do) and it'll bring tears to your sorry eyes and joy to
your hardened heart."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"[A] whimsical mystery... That's the pleasure of Himself -- the
way the novel's plot, with its delicate language and soft Irish
lilt, wanders like lush green vines, never seeming to travel in
straight lines. A villageful of characters emerge, all of them
having a deft way with a line... The mystery here is how the
living and the dead live side by side, and the joy is the music
with which Kidd brings all of the characters to life."--The
Seattle Times
"This striking literary debut is a darkly comic tale of murder,
intrigue, haunting and illegitimacy . . . wickedly funny."--Daily
Express
"Kidd's brilliantly bold debut mixes up murder and mayhem with
the eerily supernatural. It's a tender, violent and funny story
told in prose that is lyrical, lush and hugely imaginative.
Utterly unputdownable."--Sunday Express Magazine
"Page-turning and memorable . . . An exuberant rollercoaster of a
read."--Irish Examiner
About the Author
----------------
Jess Kidd is the award-winning author of Himself, Mr.
Flood's Last Resort, and Things in Jars. She has a PhD in
creative writing from St. Mary's University in London. She grew
up as part of a large family from Ireland's County Mayo and now
lives in London with her daughter. Her first book, Himself, was
shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards. Learn more at
JessKidd.com.