Into this village comes Mahony, the boy we eventually learn whose teenage mother, Orla Sweeney, "mysteriously" disappeared. He is looking for her armed with an old photograph, searching for the girl who left him, finding himself not welcome in this town where he was born. He meets and resides with his landlady, Mrs Cauley, a wonderful character, who recruits Mahony to star in in her Christmas play. She teams up with Mahony to try an unravel the mystery of his missing mom and while investigating we meet the good and the bad in the village of Muldering. Interspersed in the story are also the dead of the village who add a kind of mystical charm to the story making you want to find this place and perhaps even dwell there even if only in your mind. It was a surprisingly fast paced story and I had no clue until it was revealed who the murderer/father was. This is a beguiling, dark atmospheric and wondrous literary read interwoven with the supernatural and the fantastical. It is a stunning debut from Jess Kidd that draws the reader into what is a spellbinding read. A dark fairytale brimming with folklore, humour and flawless comic touches. For me, it called to mind the talented Kevin Barry and other Irish writers, past and present. The past gives us Orla's story and the present in the 1970s focuses on Mahony, her son. It begins with the murder of teenage single mum, Orla, and when the murderer looks to kill her

Himself by Jess Kidd - Publishers Weekly Himself by Jess Kidd - Publishers Weekly

One day, a young Irish man comes sauntering into the town of Mulderrig, and he's on a mission. You see, Mahony, was born in this town but was raised in an orphanage. While living in Dublin, he recently learned that his mother disappeared in this town. The town folk think he's a gobshite. Well, just the men. The women think he's dreamy, handsome with dark eyes and long hair, in need of a bath. Let's just say when he arrives, all h*ll breaks loose. This reading group guide for Himself includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book. As a noirish thriller with a supernatural edge, Himself is atmospheric and intriguing. As a portrait of village hypocrisy and the dark things that lurk beneath the surface, it’s also compelling. Tadhg raises his eyebrows a fraction. “Is there now? Well, you wouldn’t want to be caught in a gust of wind.” Born in the year 1973 in West London, Jess Kidd had to leave her studies while she was studying for her A levels education. After completing an access course, Jess Kidd joined St. Mary’s University, where she attained a degree in English. However, she had to drop once again from school when she discovered that she was pregnant. Jess Kidd had no other option other than to look after her child while working in a number of office jobs and social care as well. This, in turn, meant that it was going to take her long to complete her degree through the Open University. In the year 2009, Kidd was able to secure a bursary for her Masters at the well-established St. Mary’s University.He has a photograph of her, where she’s holding him as an infant, given to him as he was leaving the Orphanage. Sister Veronica had left him an envelope, his real name, and the town of his birth: Mulderrig. He knows from the note that he was taken from his mother, by unknown townspeople, because his mother was “the curse of the town.” The man plans to kill both mother and son, but after burying the mother and returning to find the son, he is perplexed, puzzled. It is almost as if the very forest itself has hidden the child from him. No matter how hard he searches he cannot find the child. Ferns have curled around him, branches have stooped and dropped their leaves in a blanket covering him.

Himself by Jess Kidd | Waterstones

I love this book. It’s a magic realist murder mystery set in rural Ireland, in which the dead play as important a part as the living. It’s one of those books that has you smiling as you read, and that you plan to read again very soon." Mysterious and lyrical… Moving between Mahony’s present and the village’s past, Himself is spun like a fairy tale and paced like a mystery told around a slowly fading campfire. Kidd is brilliant at setting the scene and painting it vividly with a twisted, comic voice… In Himself, the author revels in the magical and supernatural, deftly and often humorously melding superstition and folklore with real personal tragedy.” Mahony turned over the photograph and studied her face. God, she looked young. He would have put her as his sister rather. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen.This book is definitely magical. It combines realism with a mystery with supernatural and fantasy. I have read all of these genres at one time or another and the combination here works quite well. Jess Kidd’s writing is lyrical at times, literary at times, and very inventive.

Jess Kidd - Book Series In Order Jess Kidd - Book Series In Order

Despite an imaginative setting and richly drawn central characters, Himself never emerges as more than a mildly diverting caper of murder in an Ireland thankfully past. By chapter eight, the reader will notice a dark humour slowly enmeshing itself into the narrative, building until it is almost palpable, and you will feel yourself with a permanent smile on your face as you read. Then, believe me, the laughter will start. I will throw the challenge down and defy anybody not to be laughing as they read chapter thirteen. Jess Kidd has a PhD in Creative Writing from St. Mary's University. She grew up as a part of a large family from Mayo and now lives in London with her daughter. Himself is her first novel. She is currently at work on a second novel and a collection of short stories. At first Mahoney’s presence goes mostly unnoticed by the mortal members of town, but Mahoney is aware of those beyond the realm who hover around him, teasing him with their presence. Their eyes tell so much, and nothing at all at the same time.Starred Review. Exceptional ... While the plot hurtles along at a rapid pace, leading inexorably to the heart-pounding final conflict, Kidd injects ample doses of macabre humor and lyrical description in this memorable story from a strange, bold new voice." - Publishers Weekly start to convey Mrs Lavelle out of the hall with the tenacity of a swarm of worker ants seeing off a trespassing wasp” It's 1976. Mahoney, in his tight leather bell-bottoms, has returned to the town of Mulderrig. He’s determined to find out once and for all, what happened to his mother, Orla, who disappeared in 1950 when he was just a baby. He's met with an inordinate amount of resistance from the villagers. Each of them, it seems, has something to hide, and none of them want him around. He finds an ally in the elderly diva Mrs. Cauley, who takes up his cause. She's a former actress who puts on the church's annual fundraising play. She makes Mahoney the star of the show while the two of them sleuth around. Kidd likens her to Miss Marple, a Miss Marple who cusses and drinks with special Irish flair. Mahony took out his cigarette and squinted at the priest. “Sit yourself down, have a drink with me, Father.” An enchanted adult tale which takes place in 1970s Ireland. A special young man leaves the city of Dublin behind to travel to the village of his birth to ferret out his mother’s killer and bring him to justice.