As You Were

Description

Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize Winner of the 2021 Kate OBrien Award Winner of the 2021 Dalkey Emerging Writer AwardSinad Hynes is a tough, driven, funny young property developer with a terrifying secret. No-one knows it: not her fellow patients in a failing hospital, and certainly not her family. She has confided only in Google and a shiny magpie. But she cant go on like this, tirelessly trying to outstrip her past and in mortal fear of her future. Across the ward, Margaret Rose is running her chaotic family from her rose-gold Nokia. In the neighbouring bed, Jane, rarely but piercingly lucid, is searching for a decent bra and for someone to listen. And Sinad needs them both.As You Were is about intimate histories, institutional failures, the kindness of strangers, and the darkly present past of modern Ireland; about womens stories and womens struggles; about seizing the moment to be free. Wildly funny, desperately tragic, inventive and irrepressible,As You Wereintroduces a brilliant voice in Irish fiction with a book that is absolutely of our times.Praise forAs You WereThe novel reads almost like a humorous screen adaptation of an illness memoir, its gaze trained more on the lived experience inside a hospital than on looming death.New York TimesA mighty, turbulent firestorm of a book, with a pulsing, rhythmic narrative voice. A compelling cast of characters with pitch perfect dialogue, it is tender, nuanced, forensically controlled and thrillingly unrestrained.Jury Statement from the 2021 Dalkey Emerging Writer AwardFeeneys brilliant debut follows an Irish womans struggle to accept a terminal cancer diagnosis Feeney skillfully tells the stories of other patients, including Margaret Rose, recovering from a stroke, and Jane, suffering from dementia. In the closed space of the ward, these three women share their secrets Never sentimental, and full of well-crafted dialogue and rich descriptions, the story is driven forward by Sinads strong narration. This powerful work perfectly balances tragedy and hope.Publishers Weekly(starred review)In a novel that paints a picture of modern Ireland that isnt by Sally Rooney, women in an oncology ward come to terms with secrets, illnesses, and how to deal with their families through text and emoji-speak and existential humor. Perfect for Sad Girl Fall.NylonFunny, visceral, so well observed I was blown away.Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author ofShuggie BainI read this in one gulp! FunnySadCuttingBadHistoryElatingLyrical (new word). #Ireland #hospitals um what else?Margaret Atwood on TwitterAn arresting debut.Kirkus ReviewsWry and gut-wrenching,As You Wereis an insightful debut You cant help but cheer for this motley cohort of wardmates-cum-friendsif only so you arent sobbing the whole time. This is a novel that is heartfelt without being saccharine, realistic without being bleak, and experimental without being esoteric. I wholeheartedly recommend spending the time with these characters, learning Sinads story (and a little of Irelands too), and experiencing all this novel has to offer.Julia Turner, Itinerant Literate Books (North Charleston, SC)Irish poet Elaine Feeneys not-to-be-missed debut novel,As You Were, is smart, witty, and very engaging Two things set this extraordinary novel apart: the amazing writinglyrical, natural, often very funny, and always affecting; and Sinad, a woman with whom Feeney captures the pain of self-reflection and the stubborn resilience of hope.Lori Feathers, Interabang Books (Dallas, TX)Acerbic, funny, and sad, poet Elaine Feeneys fiction debut is a bitingly compassionate commentary on community found in the most trying of circumstances A colorful group of charactersthinkOne Flew Over the Cuckoos Nestbut narrated by a woman in an oncology ward. Her ward mates form the family that Sinad needs, and they care for each other in their own often clumsy, misguided ways. The story is told in small vignettes made up of memories, dreams, and observations a la Jenny Offill. Each fragment is a prismatic view of Sinads fear, exhaustion, and wonder at lifes rich pageant.Grace Harper, Macs Backs (Cleveland Heights, OH)Elaine FeeneysAs You Wereis an absolute rollercoaster! Always funny, at times deeply emotional, this unconventional novel explores motherhood, illness, friendship, and marriage in a way thats rarely so direct and relatable. This should be on everyones year-end reading list.Kasey Kane Charbonneau, Country Bookshelf (Bozeman, MT)An absolute treasure that deserves to be recognized for its complete brilliance!Stephanie Skees, The Novel Neighbor (Webster Groves, MO)As You Wereis an absolute tour de force: raw, sharp and wild. Elaine Feeney writes with such love for and understanding of her characters. Its the literary equivalent of a stiff drink beside a warm fire: a book that will rattle you before it settles you.Lisa McInerneyAs You Werewas just (effing) amazing. Brimful of brilliant characters, what an exciting, visceral, poetic read. I adored the lack of sentimentality. Sinad Hynes is complex and excellently realised role model too, for I found her (sometime) selfishness thrillingly refreshing.As You Weregives permission to Irish women to put themselves first, and considering what weve come from, thats seismic. Elaine Feeney is such a talent. I LOVED it!Marian KeyesA truly original voice. Raw, urgent and uncompromising about the lengths we go to to conceal hurt, deception, psychic pain A brilliant portrayal of the kindness of strangers, the kinship of women and the heartbreak of married love.Mary CostelloThe dialogue just crackles, the characters are so alive and real, theres tragedy here, theres comedy, theres everything. Its a really really fabulous book.Donal RyanComic, heartfelt and full of characters who walk off the page, it feels like Irish writing has been waiting a long time for a voice as unique and insistent as Elaine Feeney. A superb, unforgettable debut.Sinad GleesonRiveting I was exhilarated reading this.Roddy DoyleAn absolutely fabulous book.Kevin Barry