A poignant story set in Northern Ireland, Rachel Connolly’s Lazy City is a mesmerising debut. Protagonist Erin is navigating a return to her home city of Belfast following a tragic event that occurred during her time in university; working as an au pair, Erin spends her days doing mundane chores and her nights in bars with friends, enduring – or avoiding – awkwardness with both her mother and an old flame.
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This is an exploration of grief, religion and how to find the sanctuary you crave as an individual. Its storyline captures Erin’s fresh voice, the reality of dysfunctional relationships and the difficulty in trying to cope with different outcomes. As the plot develops, there’s a building sense of waiting for a climactic moment – helped by reflective, detailed prose which moves the story along despite the slow pace of the narrative.
A vivid portrayal of complicated relationships, conveyed delicately with humour and empathy. It’s clear from the poetic prose that the author has a journalistic background, but it’s not always simple to switch to fiction and this is an impressive debut which captures the complex nuances of the time perfectly.
Lazy City, Rachel Connolly (Canongate)
Price: ÂŁ16.99. Info: here
words RHIANON HOLLEY