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The Clever One [Paperback]

Helena Close
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
RRP: £12.99
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Book Description

3 Mar 2010
Gifted teenager Maeve Hogan is an outsider in her own family. She is the clever one: studious, hard-working and destined for good things.


When her sister has a baby with Big, an abusive small-time criminal, she fears the worst for the child's upbringing. While Maeve's mother is content to go along with the charade of happy families, her brother Cian seems too busy trying to figure out his sexual orientation to care.


Frustrated, Maeve decides to take drastic action alone to remedy the situation. But sometimes people can be too clever for their own good. Her plan goes badly awry, with disastrous consequences.


In the aftermath, Maeve struggles to come to terms with the fallout
- and the guilt.


The Clever One is a bravely written novel which explores the boundaries of love and loyalty, and the lengths we are prepared
to go to in protecting them.

Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Hachette Books Ireland (3 Mar 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 034092019X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340920190
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,066,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Product Description

Review

'A remarkable book that expands the frontiers of Irish popular fiction' (The Cut of Love) (Irish Times )

A fantastic book, both heart-wrenching and rewarding at the same time (RTE Guide )

A realistic, painful story that has moments of great tenderness (Irish Independent )

'Bravely written, raw, funny, at times politically incorrect but always captivating, The Clever One explores the boundaries of love, loyalty, family ties and the lengths we're prepared to go to in protecting them.
In Maeve, Helena Close has not only created an extraordinary heroine but also a credible one. An impressive, relevant and entertaining read.'

(Irish Independent 20100403)

About the Author

Helena Close was born in Cork in 1959 but moved to Limerick at the age of five. She attended UCG where she studied English and Sociology and has worked in a variety of jobs while rearing her four children. She has been writing full time for the past eight years and has co written four books with her best friend Trisha Rainsford. Her own first novel, Pinhead Duffy, was published in 2005. The Cut of Love, her second novel, was published in 2009. She has recently moved to the wilds of Liscannor, Co. Clare, much to her and her husband`s delight and her children`s disgust! She is an avid sports fan and a huge Munster and Liverpool supporter. When she`s not writing she likes to run, swim, work out in the gym and drink good coffee.

Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended, for mature readers. 28 Dec 2011
Format:Paperback
Sixteen year old Maeve is the clever one in her family. So clever that she can't believe how stupid the others can be - especially her slightly older sister Fiona, a 'pramface' now after falling pregnant to her no good boyfriend Big. After the news broke of Fiona's pregnancy, Maeve told her best friend Mark that she wanted nothing to do with the baby. But she didn't count on loving baby Harvey so much that she'd do anything to protect him - so she sets a plan in motion to rid their family of Big and the rest of the scumbags he associates with.

Author Helena Close has created a memorable, if not necessarily likeable, heroine in Maeve, and depicts Limerick in a realistic and gritty manner. It's definitely not one for younger teens - one of the very first scenes sees Maeve throw up over a boy who's trying to force her to go further than she wants with him, and that quickly seems incredibly tame compared to some of the later events in the novel. That said, none of the events seem to be there just to shock - they're believable consequences of Maeve's actions, and we can see how quickly events can spiral out of control.

I found parts of the book to be rather predictable - particularly the romantic subplot between Maeve and Mark - while others, especially the ending, took me completely by surprise. I'd hesitate to call this a particularly enjoyable read; the bleakness of the subject matter makes that description rather inappropriate. It is, though, a very powerful novel and definitely worth reading if you want a gritty and realistic drama. I'll just repeat once more my warning that this is for more mature teens only!

Overall, this is a well-written tale with some excellent characters, and I look forward to reading more from Helena Close in the future.
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