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Kevin Barry

City of Bohane Paperback – 5 April 2012

by Kevin Barry (Author)

346 ratings

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**Winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award**

‘A electrifying masterpiece’ Joseph O’Connor

The once-great city of Bohane on the west coast of Ireland is on its knees, infested by vice and split along tribal lines. There are still some posh parts of town, but it is in the slums and backstreets of Smoketown, the tower blocks of the Northside Rises and the eerie bogs of Big Nothin' that the city really lives.

For years, Bohane has been in the cool grip of Logan Hartnett, the dapper godfather of the Hartnett Fancy gang. But there's trouble in the air. But now they say his old nemesis is back in town; his trusted henchmen are getting ambitious; and there's trouble in the air...

**One of the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World**

Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award

Winner of the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Vintage
Publication date

5 April 2012
Dimensions

12.95 x 1.78 x 19.81 cm
ISBN-10

9780099549154
ISBN-13

978-0099549154
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Product details

ASIN : 0099549158
Publisher : Vintage (5 April 2012)
Language : English
Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 9780099549154
ISBN-13 : 978-0099549154
Dimensions : 12.95 x 1.78 x 19.81 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 29,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 4,233 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- 6,384 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews:
346 ratings

Product description

Review

The most arresting and original writer to emerge from these islands in years ― Irvine Welsh

Hilarious and unpredictable - and always brilliant ― Roddy Doyle

Astonishing.This marks him out as a writer of great promise ― Guardian

Beautiful, arresting, precise...a compelling creation ― Irish Times

An electrifying masterpiece ― Joseph O'Connor

About the Author

Kevin Barry's debut story collection, There Are Little Kingdoms, won the Rooney Prize in 2007. His short fiction has appeared widely on both sides of the Atlantic, most recently in The New Yorker. His novel, City of Bohane was published in 2011.

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Customer reviews

5 star		53%
4 star		21%
3 star		13%
2 star		6%
1 star		8%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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Rack of all sorts

I read this out loud to the missus in one portion like. One hand clasped to her coat for 47 pages ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 March 2018

Verified Purchase

Ah now. I read this out loud to the missus in one portion like. One hand clasped to her coat for 47 pages as she attempted to leave for her pottery class. The moaning had ceased by page 160. The last ashtray she brought back was derivative of the ashtray before that. I said to her, an artist needs to challenge themselves right? They need to expunge their heads of what went before and meander into stranger ground. No point being safe I said. This week she came back with a bleeding pottery eagle. That's it I said, that's the stuff. Proud of myself.

24 people found this helpful

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John Herbert

One for the ages

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 April 2018

Verified Purchase

By God but this man can write. If you're not familiar with the language, think 'A Clockwork Orange' and you'll have a sense of the linguistic invention and the vivacity and violence of 'City of Bohane'. The Bohane cant that he creates, the stark originality of the characters and the archetypal western story, transported to a dystopic future west coast town, are all captivating. You'll find yourself by turn rooting for the Gant Broderick, terrified by the Jenny Ching's moral flexibility and wondering what Girl is plotting. Barry hears a sentence like few other novelists working today and it is the musicality of the prose as much as the great drive of the story and the wit of his invention that will keep you reading. This is a novel I have no doubt I will read again, several times; it's so good I'll be buying friends copies.

9 people found this helpful

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Aiden Power

Blind Bohane's Twin Peaky Opus

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 March 2020

Verified Purchase

It's Ireland. But not as you know it. On the banks of the River Bohane some time in the middle of the 21st century a city is gripped by an violent clash betwixt a number feuding clans. A mash up of Mad Max and Peaky Blinders yet fixed firmly in a familiar celtic setting. The desolate bog plains, mellow smoky dreamtime and a murky fog seep into the collective consciousness. The dubby dialogue is interspersed with the traditional Irish brogue. A tale of true romance and lost love tinged with regrets of what might have been. Time waits for no man not woman neither. Always someone waiting to step into your shoes. The natural law of succession means youth will always usurp the old. Tis like Grandmaster Flash rapped: "it's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under". Y'sketch?

2 people found this helpful

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euge

Couldn't get enough

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 February 2014

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After the first few pages I was wondering whether I could get my head around the unique colloqialism jumping from the pages and had to re-read some of the exchanges, but I quickly got used to it and immersed myself in the characters' turn of phrase and the sublimely created environment that Kevin Barry has dreamt up.

It's one of the most original books I have ever read, sitting somewhere between the third policeman and a clockwork orange. This book can get dark, make no bones about it, but never oppressively so. The lilt to the language somehow detracts from the ferocity on show, which acts only as a background to the various themes of love, trust, longing, regret and deception.

If you are looking for Lynwood Barkley type cliffhangers after each chapter, this book probably isn't for you as the plot is fairly straight-forward and easy to follow. The beauty lies in the writing and the masterful construction of the world you find yourself in. It is painted so vividly that you feel you are seated amongst the deadbeats at the various haunts these characters hang out in. Kevin Barry is a talented writer, he deserves all the praise he gets. Top notch.

7 people found this helpful

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janner37

Terrible

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2020

Verified Purchase

I wonder if it is possible to block my account to stop me from buying any more of this rubbish. It gets one star only because giving none is not permitted but that is what it deserves. There are better ways of spending your time. What are you thinking of giving it five stars so other unsuspecting people buy it?

One person found this helpful

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philp

Atmospheric and involving.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 May 2020

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book very much. The feel of the city and distinctive characters engaged me quickly and I was eager to keep reading. I have since read some of the author's short stories, which I found entertaining, but not as involving as this novel, probably because of the short format.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great read.......

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 April 2018

Verified Purchase

Written with a poetic eloquence only the irish can do; a tale of gang-violence, corruption, heart-break and intrigue set in the fictional city of bohane. Masterfully done.

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

An absolute masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2020

Verified Purchase

This is an extraordinary book. I’d compare it to Clockwork Orange, Peaky Blinders and maybe the Mortal Engines series in terms of original world-building, but it’s so much more too.
Bohane is a dirty, gritty place with a fantastic array of characters and a language all of it’s own. Kevin Barry brings it to life in an incredible, cinematic way, that I’ve only really seen done before in graphic novels, but there are no pictures here; just tremendous, poetic prose.
I’m dying to spend more time in Bohane, and will be first in line for a sequel/film. I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, but I’ve finished it today and I think I’m going to re-read it tomorrow.

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