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Digital Audiobook
The Thing About December by Donal Ryan

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The Thing About December

Author
Donal Ryan
Narrator
Donal Ryan
Publisher
Transworld
Publish Date
20 February 2020
Run Time
6 hours 22 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

‘He heard Daddy one time saying he was a grand quiet boy to Mother when he thought Johnsey couldn’t hear them talking. Mother must have been giving out about him being a gom and Daddy was defending him. He heard the fondness in Daddy’s voice. But you’d have fondness for an auld eejit of a crossbred pup that should have been drowned at birth.’

While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns.
Set over the course of one year of Johnsey’s life, The Thing About December breathes with his grief, bewilderment, humour and agonizing self-doubt. This is a heart-twisting tale of a lonely man struggling to make sense of a world moving faster than he is.
Donal Ryan’s award-winning debut, The Spinning Heart, garnered unprecedented acclaim, and The Thing About December confirms his status as one of the best writers of his generation.

© Donal Ryan 2013 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

  • A force of nature ... a life-enhancing talent

    Sebastian Barry

  • His paragraphs are unnoticeably beautiful, his heart always on show, and he writes with a social accuracy that is devastating

    Anne Enright

  • Compelling and heartbreaking . . beautiful, yet simple and utterly convincing

    The Sunday Times

  • Cements Ryan as the sharpest chronicler of modern Irish life

    Esquire

See more reviews
  • Painfully moving ... Ryan’s work has set a benchmark to which other writers will aspire.

    The Irish Times

  • Clear-eyed and moving.

    Irish Independent

  • A powerful and touching meditation on loneliness and isolation . . . Ryan continues to establish himself as an important voice in recording contemporary Ireland.

    Daily Telegraph

  • Powerful . . . Ryan is clearly committed to his subject and possesses the insight and empathy to illuminate the heart of the matter.

    Financial Times

  • Ryan is a remarkably good chronicler of contemporary Irish life

    Irish Independent

  • Ryan holds you to the page by the sheer force of his language ... If you’re interested in the state of Irish fiction now, pick up a copy of this book.

    Sunday Business Post

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Details
Author
Donal Ryan
Narrator
Donal Ryan
Duration
6 hours 22 minutes
Release Date
20 February 2020
ISBN
9781473582811
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Transworld
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general

Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.‘He heard Daddy one time saying he was a grand quiet boy to Mother when he thought Johnsey couldn’t hear them talking. Mother must have been giving out about him being a gom and Daddy was defending him. He heard the fondness in Daddy’s voice. But you’d have fondness for an auld eejit of a crossbred pup that should have been drowned at birth.’While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns. Set over the course of one year of Johnsey’s life, The Thing About December breathes with his grief, bewilderment, humour and agonizing self-doubt. This is a heart-twisting tale of a lonely man struggling to make sense of a world moving faster than he is.Donal Ryan’s award-winning debut, The Spinning Heart, garnered unprecedented acclaim, and The Thing About December confirms his status as one of the best writers of his generation.© Donal Ryan 2013 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

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