Loved the characters in the pub she works at too. I can definitely chime with those older Irish men full of yearning and Guinness - I have plenty in my own family Very touching descriptions of lonely older generation Irish, both women and men who left Ireland and stayed in London. When everyone’s gone from the pub, Pat lets her tiredness take her over, her mouth sagging downwards into an upside down U. Terrified about the current volatile state of the western world? Anxiety levels high? Concerned about what is happening (or, for that matter, not happening) to our politics, society, culture? Then perhaps this book is ideal for you…

The Mess We’re In by Annie Macmanus published May 11th with Wildfire and is described by Sara Cox as ‘beautifully painted, well set up and realistic’.

The revised tenth anniversary edition is published on 14 June 2022 in the US, and 15 July 2022 in many other countries.

While Orla’s own dreams seem to be going nowhere, Shiva are on the brink of something big. But as the hype around the band intensifies, so does the hedonism, and relationships in the house are growing strained.It's the turn of the millennium and, landing in London with nothing but her CD collection and demo tape, Orla Quinn moves into a squalid Kilburn house with her best mate and a band called Shiva.

What [Macmanus has] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people, is terrific, and deeply moving' RODDY DOYLEThe dialogue in this feels so real, witty and funny that it feels like you’re reading a script from a BAFTA winning telly show. In lucid prose, Keane discusses all these malaises, and attempts to place them all in an historical perspective which is both illuminating and educative. If nothing else this book will clarify some of the underlying reasons we have given ourselves in the past, and within which we now find ourselves floundering in a stomach-churning sea of unease and disquiet. So vivid . . . What [Macmanus has] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people, is terrific, and deeply moving’ RODDY DOYLE Orla is Irish and moves to London in her early twenties in 2001. She lives with her friend Neema and Neema’s brother Kesh. Kesh is in a band called Shiva and the rest of the band live there too. The author really captures the energy of ‘finding yourself’ as a young person in your twenties. The fun & possibilities. The chance for reinvention and taking chances. The euphoric heights and soul crushing lows - and Orla certainly experiences all of this.