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A review by synnereads
Close to Home by Michael Magee
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
3.5
A community that knows you can be both a blessing and a curse. Especially when that community is still coping with the aftermath of the Troubles and struggling with a lack of oppurtunity.
Sean has a university degree in English literature, but can barely find ANY work when he returns to Belfast; and it doesn't exactly help when he assaults someone at a party (it's not a spoiler – it's mentioned in the blurb).
His family is not doing great either, and some long-kept family secrets are slowly being revealed.
This book might sound bleak, with themes like poverty, feeling stuck, self-loathing and the pitfalls of masculinity, but it's also a book about love, hope, reconciliation, and finding a way forward.
I enjoyed it, but I wasn't wowed.
Sean has a university degree in English literature, but can barely find ANY work when he returns to Belfast; and it doesn't exactly help when he assaults someone at a party (it's not a spoiler – it's mentioned in the blurb).
His family is not doing great either, and some long-kept family secrets are slowly being revealed.
This book might sound bleak, with themes like poverty, feeling stuck, self-loathing and the pitfalls of masculinity, but it's also a book about love, hope, reconciliation, and finding a way forward.
I enjoyed it, but I wasn't wowed.