Big Girl, Small Town
Michelle Gallen
Dec 2020 · Hachette Audio · Narrated by Nicola Coughlan
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9 hr 41 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
FINALIST FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE
“Darkly hilarious . . . Wildly entertaining.” —The Guardian
Meet Majella O’Neill, a heroine like no other, performed by Nicola Coughlan, star of Derry Girls.
Majella is happiest out of the spotlight, away from her neighbors’ stares and the gossips of the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up just after the Troubles. She lives a quiet life caring for her alcoholic mother, working in the local chip shop, watching the regular customers come and go. She wears the same clothes each day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, microwaved at home after her shift ends), and binge-watches old DVDs of the same show (Dallas, best show on TV) from the comfort of her bed.
But underneath Majella’s seemingly ordinary life are the facts that she doesn’t know where her father is and that every person in her town has been changed by the lingering divide between Protestants and Catholics. When Majella’s predictable existence is upended by the death of her granny, she comes to realize there may be more to life than the gossips of Aghybogey, the pub, and the chip shop. In fact, there just may be a whole big world outside her small town.
Told in a highly original voice, with a captivating heroine readers will love and root for, Big Girl, Small Town will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, and accessible literary fiction with an edge.
FINALIST FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
FINALIST FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE
“Darkly hilarious . . . Wildly entertaining.” —The Guardian
Meet Majella O’Neill, a heroine like no other, performed by Nicola Coughlan, star of Derry Girls.
Majella is happiest out of the spotlight, away from her neighbors’ stares and the gossips of the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up just after the Troubles. She lives a quiet life caring for her alcoholic mother, working in the local chip shop, watching the regular customers come and go. She wears the same clothes each day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, microwaved at home after her shift ends), and binge-watches old DVDs of the same show (Dallas, best show on TV) from the comfort of her bed.
But underneath Majella’s seemingly ordinary life are the facts that she doesn’t know where her father is and that every person in her town has been changed by the lingering divide between Protestants and Catholics. When Majella’s predictable existence is upended by the death of her granny, she comes to realize there may be more to life than the gossips of Aghybogey, the pub, and the chip shop. In fact, there just may be a whole big world outside her small town.
Told in a highly original voice, with a captivating heroine readers will love and root for, Big Girl, Small Town will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, and accessible literary fiction with an edge.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
FINALIST FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE
“Darkly hilarious . . . Wildly entertaining.” —The Guardian
Meet Majella O’Neill, a heroine like no other, performed by Nicola Coughlan, star of D...
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About the author
Michelle Gallen was born in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970s and grew up during the Troubles a few miles from the border between what she was told was the “Free” State and the “United” Kingdom. She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin, then survived what doctors now suspect was autoimmune encephalitis in her mid-twenties. Her debut novel, Big Girl, Small Town was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. Her critically acclaimed second novel, Factory Girls, won the Comedy Women in Print award and was shortlisted for the RSL Encore Award. Both books are being adapted for TV. She lives in Dublin with her husband and kids.
Nicola Coughlan is an Irish actress known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the TV show Derry Girls and Penelope Featherington in Netflix’s Bridgerton. On Big Girl, Small Town, Coughlan said, "I was so pleased to be asked to narrate the audiobook of Big Girl, Small Town. Michelle Gallen’s writing gripped me from the moment I started reading the book, and I’ve really enjoyed bringing it to life in the studio."
Nicola Coughlan is an Irish actress known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the TV show Derry Girls and Penelope Featherington in Netflix’s Bridgerton. On Big Girl, Small Town, Coughlan said, "I was so pleased to be asked to narrate the audiobook of Big Girl, Small Town. Michelle Gallen’s writing gripped me from the moment I started reading the book, and I’ve really enjoyed bringing it to life in the studio."
Michelle Gallen was born in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970s and grew up during the Troubles a few miles from the border between what she was told was the “Free” State and the “United” Kingdom. She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin, then survived what doctors now suspect was a...
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