Cover Image: The End of the World is a Cul de Sac

The End of the World is a Cul de Sac

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Member Reviews

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

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I struggled getting through this. it isn't a bad book, I just think that ultimately it wasn't for me.

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An interesting if bleak short-story collection. Not one for those looking to escape the misery of normal life as every story is a mirror to the woes of humanity. Might appeal to those wanting to read more Irish literature.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free e arc in exchange for an honest review

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There’s a quote that I heard many years in relation to writing…If you scratch the skin of pain, you’ll find beauty – and that certainly applies to this debut collection. Dark, funny, sad and sometimes visceral, I highly recommended these short stories.

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Loved this collection of short stories, it took me a while to get into this book as the first story didn't really grab my attention, but then it pulled me in, a wonderful complete absorbing collection of stories, after finishing one I had to put it down it digest and think through what I'd just read. I plan on going back to re-read my favourite ones.

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I would like to extend my gratitude to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me this advanced reader’s copy in return for a fair, frank, and honest review.

I only liked a couple of these stories, so I did not read them all. The characters appeared real and likeable enough, but I just thought it was too depressing. I read books to escape the trials and tribulations of every day life in this current climate but this one failed to do that.

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A debut short story collection written by a talented Irish writer. I found the stories quite dark and depressing but I enjoyed the style of writing and the realism of the characters.

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The End of the World is a Cul De Sac is a short story collection from Louise Kennedy.

I read this book as a read along, it was set up by Cat Hogan on the socials. We read one story a day, for 15 days. I usually read them in the mornings before work, and it is something I plan on continuing with some of the other story collections on my shelf.

I’m going to keep it short and sweet here, I’m not going to go into which stories I favoured more than others – as I honestly can’t pick between them. What I will say that all the stories took me through a rollercoaster – but I also felt a bit like my emotions had been through a sparring session with Katie Taylor, I was battered and bruised. While there are moments of joy within these stories, they mostly show a bleak side of life.

As has been mentioned in a few other reviews I have seen, the typical short story collection will include a couple that don’t match up to the quality of the better ones. This time however I was absolutely blown away by each and every story in this collection. A few of them struck a harder chord than I was prepared for and ultimately left me a little broken. While 15 stories is a good number to stop on, I was left wanting even more.

For me, the author doesn’t make a single mis step. This is Irish literature at its best, highly recommended.

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⭐ Rating: 2 ⭐

A collection of short stories featuring different characters. I found it very difficult to get through this book as I felt there wasn’t enough time to get attached to characters and anything to want to make me read on.

❤️ What I Liked ❤️
Premise: Short stories with a range of characters, backgrounds and lives

💔 What I Disliked 💔
Character Development: There was not enough time to see the characters develop and get attached to them to want to read on.
Plot: Each story it seems as though you are dropped into the middle of a plot and by the time you understand the characters story and what is happening it is the end of the chapter.

World building:
📖 Overall View 📖
Overall I just was not a fan of the book, I needed time to connect with the characters and their story and by the time I did they were gone. Perhaps with less character in and more to their story I may have enjoyed this more but I really did have to push myself when trying to read through this. Once I got to the end of the book I tried to recall the characters I had read about and their stories and they were muddled. I do wonder what the take away from this book was.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This collection of short stories is the debut of Louise Kennedy. Each story follows an Irish woman in varying circumstances, giving us a glimpse into their lives, their relationships and the difficulties they face.

Its not an uplifting book; some of the stories are quite haunting, but it is very well written and the characters are written very well. As I progressed through each story, I became more impressed by what the author had achieved in the collection and I will definitely be looking out for more work from her in future.

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Kevin Barry, Mary Costello and Colin Barrett all published first collections in the decade after 2005. They established the standard for the resurgence of Irish short story writing. Occasionally, a writer such as Wendy Ervine reaches that level, and it is a pleasure to find that Louise Kennedy, too, has produced a collection of smash hits of the highest calibre.

Of the three mentioned in the first sentence, she is closest to Colin Barrett, in that most of her stories feature small town characters living precariously with few advantages in their backgrounds and few threads of hope for a future redemption. In powerful writing, Ms Kennedy sets out very evocatively and, where necessary, unpleasantly, the dinginess of deserted estates and crowded housing; the eternal tugging of babies past, present and to come; the fear of sexual betrayal and the reality of it; and the fortunes and misfortunes of Irish small-town life.

Yet, the writing is such that the reader is ever-keener to discover more and more about these lives and experience the cliff-edges of others while remaining in the safety of the book. For many readers, it may even make their circumstances seem comparatively comfortable.

There are also appreciations of natural beauty, such as the hare in Hunter-Gatherers, admired by the wife but despatched by the threatening young girl. (In Imbolc, too, a young girl helping with birthing ewes is a real sexual threat to another expectant wife.). Probably the most touching story is Wolf Point, in which a forester father introduces his young daughter, Clary, to nature, though against a backdrop of a depressive, once-suicidal mother who hardly has the energy to rise.

The funniest story is Beyond Carthage, where a recent victim of breast cancer and attempted infidelity goes on holiday with a female friend. From finding themselves in the wrong country (Tunisia) with heavy March rain to being the only attendees at a nightclub to a “massage parlour,” the humour is skilfully embroidered on a sad background.

In Silhouette was my favourite.

Here are fifteen stories that are totally absorbing and of the highest quality.

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I greatly enjoyed this collection of Irish short stories, giving slices of ordinary but unusual lives. Each character felt fully realised and thoughtfully described. Although the themes of the stories were not light hearted, the atmosphere and realism carried me through.

A well deserved five stars from me.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

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I went into this book knowing nothing of the author, simply wanting to try a new short story collection. I've read some really strong collections (Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, and To Be a Man by Nicole Krauss, as a benchmark), and this is very nearly up there with those.

This collection brings together stories of Irish women who are experiencing difficulties or turning points after often traumatic or upsetting events. That sounds like this will be a bleak read, and at times it can be. But it isn't all shrouded in that bleakness, mainly due to Kennedy's writing. She has such a strong voice, very authentic and eloquent, and puts her characters in fascinating situations. We have a woman abandoned by her husband, living isolated from her community in the failed building development she has fled. A wife who is being punished by her husband for a choice she made. A pregnant mother whose husband has found himself in bed with gangsters after turning to them for financial help. And in all of these stories there is a darkly comic voice and an authentic rooting in Irish rural life.

I thought this was such a rich collection of writing, and I'll definitely be following this author in future.

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I only read the first two stories, and stopped after that. I found them very confusing and I continuously felt like I was missing information or I didn't understand what was happening.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

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Really enjoyed these stories. They are grim, funny, and very very Irish. A very strong Irish voice. Can't wait to see what she does next.

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This is a stunning collection of stories all set in the aftermath of a traumatic event. Kennedy's prose is wonderful with a strong eye for detail and ear for dialogue. Encompassing lost loves, murder, illness and loss, this is a powerful collection of stories that lingers long after they have been read.

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I don’t usually like short stories but this was great. Louise Kennedy’s writing is great and this is such a gem!
Each story is beautifully thought, written and executed and it makes it such a fun read.
I really would suggest everyone reads this, there’s something for everyone in this.
It makes me so eager to read more of her work

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This debut collection of short stories by Irish author Louise Kennedy will be published in April. I read it over the course of a couple of weeks, and the further I got into it, the more I grew to love it.

The stories are set in rural Ireland, mostly in the border counties, and are mainly centred on dysfunctional relationships, with themes of alcoholism, depression and grief (among others) featuring. Though it sounds bleak, it’s full of dry and dark humour, quiet observations and subtlety that blew me away.

With all good short storytelling, it’s what’s left unsaid and how that’s done that leaves the greatest impact. I found the characters stayed with me afterwards. I particularly loved Beyond Carthage and Garland Sunday, though honestly I loved almost all of the stories.

Even if you don’t typically read short stories, I’d recommend this collection. Dip in and out of it, keep it by your bedside, read a story a day. Immensely enjoyable. 4-4.5/5 ⭐️

*This book will be published on 8 April 2021 and can be preordered from all good bookshops. I read an advance digital copy courtesy of the publisher @BloomsburyPublishing via @NetGalley. I am going to preorder myself a copy though as I loved it. As always this is an honest review.*

#TheEndOfTheWorldIsACulDeSac #LouiseKennedy #BloomsburyPublishing

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These stories are just fantastic a great new author with a brilliant new way of writing about the world and the people in it. A must read for anyone who loves the how we can get get up and entwined in the goings on in the world, how our values and beliefs become ingrained in everything we do.

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I managed to read two of the stories in this book before giving up and ordering a paper copy instead. They are so wonderful and the formatting issues were driving me nuts. I am SO looking forward to reading the rest, as the two I read were wonderfully imaginative and felt so real. Louise Kennedy has astonishing talent and is an amazing writing.

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