The Spinning Heart

''Funny, moving and beautifully written’ Edna O''Brien

In the aftermath of Ireland’s financial collapse, dangerous tensions surface in an Irish town. As violence flares, the characters face a battle between public persona and inner desires. Through a chorus of unique voices, each struggling to tell their own kind of truth, a single authentic tale unfolds.

The Spinning Heart speaks for contemporary Ireland like no other novel. Wry, vulnerable, all-too human, it captures the language and spirit of rural Ireland and with uncanny perception articulates the words and thoughts of a generation. Technically daring and evocative of Patrick McCabe and J.M. Synge, this novel of small-town life is witty, dark and sweetly poignant.

''Filled with light and shade, love and tragedy ... if it was a song you could sing it’ Anne Enright

‘Donal Ryan is the real deal. … a brilliantly realised, utterly resonant state-of-the-nation landscape’ Sunday Independent

‘I can’t imagine a more original, more perceptive or more passionate work than this. Outstanding’ John Boyne

‘It’s furious, it’s moving, it’s darkly funny, it punches you right in the gut’ New York Times