{"product_id":"9780241996409","title":"Michael Magee - Close to Home","description":"\u003cp\u003eWritten by Michael Magee. Themes include Fiction, Literary, Political, Biographical, Coming of Age.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn \u003ci\u003eObserver \u003c\/i\u003eBest New Novelist 2023 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLuminous and devastating, a portrait of modern masculinity as shaped by class, by trauma, and by silence, but also by the courage to love and to survive \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Staggeringly humane, unfaltering, taut and tender... [It] feels like that rarest of things: a genuinely necessary book' \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Every detail rings true, every character is fleshy and real and heartbreaking... Michael Magee has a remarkable talent' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSean's brother Anthony is a hard man. When they were kids their ma did her best to keep him out of trouble but you can't say anything to Anto. Sean was supposed to be different. He was supposed to leave and never come back. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Sean does come back. Arriving home after university, he finds Anthony's drinking is worse than ever. Meanwhile the jobs in Belfast have vanished, Sean's degree isn't worth the paper it's written on and no one will give him the time of day. One night he loses control and assaults a stranger at a party, and everything is tipped into chaos. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eClose to Home \u003c\/i\u003ewitnesses the aftermath of that night, as Sean attempts to make sense of who he has become, and to reckon with the relationships that have shaped him, for better and worse. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDrawing from his own experiences, Michael Magee examines the forces which keep young working class men in harm's way, in a debut novel which shines with intelligence and humanity on every page. \u003ci\u003eClose to Home\u003c\/i\u003e is an extraordinary work of fiction about deciding what kind of a man you want to be and finding your place in the scarred city you call home.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll books at Vastela are pre-owned. Condition varies from good to near-new. No book is sold in unacceptable condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vastela Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58036399735158,"sku":null,"price":3.9,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0707\/7144\/1981\/files\/9780241996409.jpg?v=1780747894","url":"https:\/\/www.vastelabooks.com\/products\/9780241996409","provider":"Vastela Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}