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A Girl is a Half-formed Thing

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( 13,800 ratings, 2,461 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride explores the raw and intimate thoughts of a young woman as she navigates her tumultuous upbringing in Ireland. Written in a fragmented and stream-of-consciousness style, the narrative delves into her complex relationships with family, particularly her brother, amidst themes of identity, trauma, and resilience. This powerful novel offers a deeply personal and emotional insight into a young woman's psyche.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you appreciate innovative narrative styles and deeply emotional storytelling. Eimear McBride's unique prose immerses you in the raw, intimate journey of a young woman navigating complex family relationships and personal struggles. It’s a powerful exploration of identity, resilience, and the impact of trauma.

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Driven to despair by the intimate traumas of family, a nameless woman uses her sexuality as a weapon and shield.

* Interviews in newspapers such as Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Courier Mail and the NZ Herald * Reviews in newspapers across Australia and New Zealand * Reviews in literary magazines and journals such as Australian Book Review, Monthly and the Listener * Interviews on radio programs such as Radio National's Life Matters and Radio NZ Saturday's with Kim Hill * Widespread online review coverage * Early reading copies available to the trade * Promotions and giveaways with targeted subscriber groups, including book lovers such as the CAE and Good Reading * Banner advertising on bookseller websites * Feature title in Text newsletters and website

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Winner, Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, United Kingdom, 2014

Winner, Goldsmiths Prize, United Kingdom, 2013

Winner, Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, Ireland, 2014

Winner, Desmond Elliott Prize, United Kingdom, 2014

Shortlisted, Folio Prize, 2014

Longlisted, Guardian First Book Award, United Kingdom, 2013

This incredible debut novel tells, with astonishing insight and in brutal detail, the story of a young woman's relationship with her brother, and the long shadow cast by his childhood brain tumour.

Not so much a stream of consciousness, as an unconscious railing against a life that makes little sense, it offers a shocking and intimate insight into the thoughts, feelings, and chaotic sexuality of a vulnerable and isolated protagonist.

To read A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing is to plunge inside its narrator's head, experiencing her world first-hand. This isn't always comfortable, but it is always a revelation.

Touching on everything from family violence to sexuality and the personal struggle to remain intact in times of intense trauma, McBride writes with singular intensity, acute sensitivity, and mordant wit.

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing is moving, funny, and alarming. It is a book you will never forget.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Eimear McBride's debut novel is hailed for its originality and emotive power, often compared to the work of Faulkner, Woolf, Joyce, and Beckett. Critics admire its intense and challenging prose, filled with fragmented consciousness and innovative use of language, marking it as a significant literary achievement. The book is celebrated for its brave narrative, vivid characterisation, and emotional depth, offering a uniquely immersive reading experience despite its demanding style.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781922182234

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 October 2013

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 260g

Pages: 240

About the Author

Authors Bio, not available

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