The Thing About December

Brilliantly realized and deeply moving second novel from the author of the award-winning The Spinning Heart.

While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Set over the course of one year of Johnsey's life, this book is about his grief, bewilderment, humour and agonizing self-doubt.

From the twice Man Booker longlisted author of From a Low and Quiet Sea

'A force of nature ... a life-enhancing talent' SEBASTIAN BARRY


While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns.

Set over the course of one year of Johnsey's life, The Thing About December breathes with his grief, bewilderment, humour and agonizing self-doubt. This is a heart-twisting tale of a lonely man struggling to make sense of a world moving faster than he is.

Donal Ryan's award-winning debut, The Spinning Heart, garnered unprecedented acclaim, and The Thing About December confirms his status as one of the best writers of his generation.

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'His paragraphs are unnoticeably beautiful, his heart always on show, and he writes with a social accuracy that is devastating' ANNE ENRIGHT

'Compelling and heartbreaking . . beautiful, yet simple and utterly convincing' SUNDAY TIMES

'Painfully moving ... Ryan's work has set a benchmark to which other writers will aspire' JOHN BOYNE, IRISH TIMES

'Cements Ryan as the sharpest chronicler of modern Irish life' ESQUIRE