Himself

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Tadhg withholds a fart, just while he’s thinking. “Shauna Burke rents out rooms to paying guests at Rathmore House up in the forest. That’s about it.” Mystery fans should be forewarned, however . . . the story is also infused with the paranormal and has been given a strong dose of magical realism. At first Mahoney’s presence goes mostly unnoticed by the mortal members of town, but Mahoney is aware of those beyond the realm who hover around him, teasing him with their presence. Their eyes tell so much, and nothing at all at the same time.

Himself by Jess Kidd review – a dark and rollicking debut

With “Himself,” Jess Kidd bewitches the reader. I, for one, am glad I fell under his spell. I hope you will consider doing the same. Learn some good old Irish slang. Start by Googling terms like “acting the maggot,” “earwigging,” and “throwing shapes” to see what they mean. Mahoney is a man on a secret mission, but he has walked into a viper pit of parochial mistrust and murderous secrets. By day Mulderrig appears respectable; a solid fat-ankled mammy dressed in patchworked fields. But at night she's gypsied to the nines, beringed and braceleted with fairy forts. While Jess Kidd spent so much time creating the "good" characters, and they are so tremendously appealing, some of the "bad" characters don't get the same attention, so they feel a little more like stereotypical characters than fully realized. But the beauty of Kidd's storytelling, and the warmth of this book is wonderful, reminding me a bit of those quirky Irish movies like Waking Ned Devine. (In tone, not subject matter.) This is a book which would be absolutely terrific as a movie because there is so much your mind's eye pictures, and it would be great to see that portrayed on screen. Are all small towns unhappy in their own ways (to paraphrase Tolstoy), or do there tend to be significant overlaps in the challenges that small towns face? How does, say, a small town in your home state compare to a rural village in County Mayo, Ireland?Kidd mixes the darkest capacities of these villagers with carefully observed whimsy and fantasy. Readers who enjoy a dollop of whiskey in their tea will feel right at home in Mulderrig." - Booklist Abandoned in a Dublin orphanage as a baby, Mahony, now aged twenty-six, receives a letter left for him long ago that hints he might not have been abandoned after all.

Himself | Book by Jess Kidd | Official Publisher Page | Simon

How would you characterize the tone of the story? How does the language contribute to the tone? What else contributes to it? Is Mahony’s outsider identity important to the novel? How does his otherness mirror Orla’s experience? Tadhg raises his eyebrows a fraction. “Is there now? Well, you wouldn’t want to be caught in a gust of wind.” Whether Mahony wishes the dead to remain in his peripheral vision or not, he can’t avoid them. He has come to town, searching for his story, and they have stories to tell.Unfortunately for him, the only ghost he really wants to see (his mother's), eludes him. Ghosts in this book are like cats - they don't come when they're called. They aren't particularly helpful. They don't uncover crucial clues or whisper murderers’ names, though their presence is integral to the book.