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Virgin
- Author
- Hollie McNish
- Narrator
- Hollie McNish
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Book Group
- Publish Date
- 16 October 2025
- Run Time
- 2 hours 29 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
'Energising, fearless and joyful' SARA PASCOE
'Hollie has such a wonderful voice. Warm, relatable, smart and funny' SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR
'Funny, so smart and refreshingly honest' SARAH MILLICAN
'One of the best poets we have' MATT HAIG
Virgin snow
Virgin mojitos
Virgin mother
Virgin Mary
Virgin: one little six-letter word that holds such incredible power. The power to pressure, to judge, to harm, to praise, to profit, to punish. But virginity is also just a concept, a label that has been pressed upon people for centuries in numerous cultures worldwide.
In this highly anticipated collection of poetry, Hollie McNish unpicks the role this word has played in her own life, as well as others, with her trademark mix of humour, fury and compassion. Whether considering if Mary was a fan of her own nickname, to rejoicing her annual excitement in ice cream vans, to looking back on how ridiculously she ate creamy mashed potato with her family after apparently 'losing' her own virginity, she examines in her own inimitable way the tracks this concept makes throughout so many minds, and the possibilities of freedom.
At times hilarious, at times harrowing, always hopeful - a poetic love letter against the more nefarious effects of purity culture packed with stacks of honeycomb, hand holds and early morning light.
Critics Review
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Myth-shattering poetry about purity and sex . . . full of tenderness and humour
Guardian
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Demystifying and detoxifying . . . wit is wielded with scalpel precision and immediacy and accessibility is prized over dense lyricism. She is a poet for those who think they don't like poetry and a tonic for those who know they do
Scotsman
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Honest, funny and fiercely relatable . . . with warmth and wit, she has helped to bring poetry off the page and into people's lives
The i Paper
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Characteristically frank and forthright, variously angry, funny, confrontational and explicit . . . it reads like a kind of innocence regained
Scotsman
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Details
- Author
- Hollie McNish
- Narrator
- Hollie McNish
- Duration
- 2 hours 29 minutes
- Release Date
- 16 October 2025
- ISBN
- 9781405563598
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Book Group
- Genre
- Poetry / poems by individual poets, Literary studies: poetry and poets, Birth control, contraception, family planning
Synopsis
'Like Pam Ayres on acid' LEMN SISSAY'Energising, fearless and joyful' SARA PASCOE'Hollie has such a wonderful voice. Warm, relatable, smart and funny' SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR'Funny, so smart and refreshingly honest' SARAH MILLICAN'One of the best poets we have' MATT HAIGVirgin snowVirgin mojitosVirgin motherVirgin MaryVirgin: one little six-letter word that holds such incredible power. The power to pressure, to judge, to harm, to praise, to profit, to punish. But virginity is also just a concept, a label that has been pressed upon people for centuries in numerous cultures worldwide.In this highly anticipated collection of poetry, Hollie McNish unpicks the role this word has played in her own life, as well as others, with her trademark mix of humour, fury and compassion. Whether considering if Mary was a fan of her own nickname, to rejoicing her annual excitement in ice cream vans, to looking back on how ridiculously she ate creamy mashed potato with her family after apparently 'losing' her own virginity, she examines in her own inimitable way the tracks this concept makes throughout so many minds, and the possibilities of freedom.At times hilarious, at times harrowing, always hopeful - a poetic love letter against the more nefarious effects of purity culture packed with stacks of honeycomb, hand holds and early morning light.
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