The Fields

Paperback Published on: 02/01/2014
Price: £22.00
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Bookseller Reviews

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The Fields
Funny and touching, with some funny touching...
A splendid debut novel from Kevin Maher, the unlikely and skilfully drawn hero of which is teenage Dubliner, Jim Finnegan. Full of energy and laughter and ... READ MORE
Greg Eden
The Fields
A fresh new voice from Ireland
So far life has been good to 13 year old Jim Finnegan, growing up outside Dublin amidst his large family in a close-knit community. However, it is the 1980... READ MORE
Claudia  Sunderhauf
The Fields
Skilfully crafted and powerful but...
Excellently well-written - I found myself completely absorbed in this book, drawn in by the convincing voice of the young narrator and main character, Jim ... READ MORE
Jeni at Waterstones Wells
The Fields
One to watch
This is a great first novel from a really promising new author. The charming and endearing main character Jim Finnegan is what makes this novel so engrossi... READ MORE
Jen Wootton at Covent Garden
The Fields
An excellent début.
This is both very funny and yet very dark. It explores some very difficult and complex issues surrounding sexuality, the transition into adulthood, abuse, ... READ MORE
BeckyV

Synopsis

'A joy to read: fresh, funny, moving and always surprising' Kate Atkinson

'Fresh, beguiling and laugh-out-loud funny on every page, this must be the most enjoyable Irish novel since Skippy Dies' Guardian

They'd sit around in a steamy kitchen circle like four mad witches, and dip ginger-snaps into Maxwell House until they went wobbly-warm, and take turns at saying, Jahear about so-and-so, Lord rest his soul, only thirty years old, poor creature?! They were brilliant at it. Scaring the shite out of each other, grinning inside.
Jim Finnegan is thirteen years old and life in his world consists of dealing with the helter-skelter intensity of his rumbustious family, taking breakneck bike rides with his best friend, and coveting the local girls from afar - until one day when everything changes.

The Fields is an unforgettable story of an extraordinary character: Jim's voice leaps off the page and straight into the reader's heart as he grapples with his unfairly interrupted adolescence.

Praise for The Fields:

'Heartbreaking and hilarious in equal measures' Stylist

Funny and heart-warming' Daily Mail

'The Fields is crazy mad, lyrical and unforgettable' Red

'Exquisite moments of comedy that anyone with a whiff of Irish heritage will immediately recognise' Sunday Express

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
  • ISBN: 9780349138671
  • Number of pages: 448
  • Dimensions: 198 x 159 x 31 mm
  • Weight: 362g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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The Fields
OMG
Having been sent quite a few books over the Christmas period to review, most of which I did not enjoy and some unreadable, I embarked on this book with som... READ MORE
quizqueen
The Fields
Sparky debut, but with darkness
This book is terribly difficult to categorise. It leaps between something hilarious and wickedly observant, and something unsettlingly dark, and I’m not su... READ MORE
Leilah at Doncaster
The Fields
A Hard Read
I found the book extremely hard to read, the issues raised around about coming of age in Ireland were initially treated with sympathy and the viewpoint of ... READ MORE
Baroness of Sealand
The Fields
Very nice ending!
After the first 6 or 7 chapters I thought this book was a fair bit dull in that it was reading like any other book you may come across about growing up in ... READ MORE
Psychosaur
The Fields
Unusual
The story is of a teenage boy growing up in 80's Dublin with dire consequences when his mother forces him to be an altar boy and the randy Father takes a f... READ MORE
Revel
The Fields
The Fields
Considering it's very dark content, there was a delightful thread of humour running through the entire story, mostly due to the fact that despite going thr... READ MORE
Lani
The Fields
Sparky debut, but with darkness
This book is terribly difficult to categorise. It leaps between something hilarious and wickedly observant, and something unsettlingly dark, and I’m not su... READ MORE
Leilah at Doncaster