Breakdown

Breakdown: The humane Irish Bestseller about the dark side of modern motherhood

Fiction & Poetry, Modern & Contemporary Fiction | Paperback Published on: 27/02/2025
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Published 27/02/2025
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Bookseller Reviews

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Breakdown
A mesmerising journey.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what too expect going into this. What I found was a surprisingly engaging journey through one woman’s mind. The characterisat... READ MORE
Luna
Breakdown
Unique, funny and incredibly thoughtful
I loved the premise of this - a mother leaves home one day as if to go to work, but instead just drives, and gets on a train, then ferry, gets a lift from ... READ MORE
Rebecca at Tunbridge Wells
Breakdown
Perfection
A terrific exploration of the mind of one, middle-aged woman who wakes up one morning and decides she simply cannot hack her life as it is, so she just wal... READ MORE
Katy Wheatley
Breakdown
A gripping tale of escape, range and breakdown.
In Cathy Sweeney's debut novel, a seemingly ordinary winter morning in Dublin becomes the catalyst for an extraordinary journey of self-discovery and recko... READ MORE
Thuvaja
Breakdown
Beautiful and hugely readable
I really enjoyed this book - the writing style was beautiful and hugely readable, and the premise brilliant. I think this debut will strike a chord with ma... READ MORE
Zach at Douglas
Breakdown
Hauntingly relatable
I finished Breakdown and had an inner cheer - finally a recently published book with a woman of middle age as the main character. Hurrah! I cannot tell you... READ MORE
Emma Smith at Bedford
Breakdown
Wow
I read it in a day; engulfed it, actually. It's a brutally honest account of a middle class woman breaking out of the shackles of her life, shattering tabo... READ MORE
Chris Bedford
Breakdown
such an interesting concept for a book!
The premise of this book was fantastic, and I loved the blunt, unapologetic mindset of the protagonist. Full of candour, this is a fantastic read for bookg... READ MORE
Libby Low
Breakdown
Irish writers doing it again
It is extremely rare for me to be disappointed or let down by an Irish writer, and Cathy Sweeney has continued this for me! I flew through this, it’s a ver... READ MORE
Anna at Belfast
Breakdown
Moments of clarity
I love contemporary Irish fiction, and also thoroughly enjoy a character driven book with a slightly messy woman at its heart. One of those where outwardly... READ MORE
Beth at Chesterfield

Synopsis

From the Irish Tatler's Woman of the Year for Literature and one of the AN Post Irish Book Awards's Best New Irish Writers comes a novel about one woman's decision to leave everything behind
'Thrillingly relatable'
Harper's Bazaar

'This funny, thoughtful novel will resonate with lots of women'
Good Housekeeping

'You won't be able to put this down. A fascinating study of a woman who has sacrificed her dreams'
The Gloss

'A masterful account of one woman's dramatic rebellion against society's demands'
Daily Express

'A vivid portrait of a woman adrift' Observer
Mothers are not supposed to go on road trips . . .

But one winter morning in Dublin, an ordinary woman wakes up in her ordinary home, her husband next to her in bed, her teenage children sleeping nearby. And - without thinking much about it - walks out the front door and never comes back.

So begins a journey which will take her into service stations and shopping centres, hotel bars and hairdressers - and the beds of strange men.

Until finally, forty-eight hours later, alone in a cottage in Wales, the woman faces up to what she has been ignoring inside herself, her family, modern society: signs of breakdown.

  • Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
  • ISBN: 9781474618533
  • Number of pages: 224
  • Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm

Customer Reviews

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Breakdown
Great Debut!
Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy. I really enjoyed this read and I could certainly see myself gifting copies to many friends. Loved... READ MORE
Fiona Sharp