Laura Cassidy's Walk of Fame
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Published:5th Mar '20
£14.99
Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.
The darkly comic story of one woman's determination to make it from her small home town to fame on the silver screen: a story of ambition, tragedy, and the lies we tell ourselves in pursuit of our dreams.
The darkly comic story of one woman’s determination to make it from her small home town to fame on the silver screen: a story of ambition, tragedy, and the lies we tell ourselves in pursuit of our dreams.
'A cracker' Patrick McCabe
'An irresistible comedy' Luke Kennard
Laura Cassidy is going all the way. Hollywood. Starry lights. The Walk of Fame. It’s her destiny. At least, that’s what her movie-obsessed father used to tell her. That was always the plan.
Sure, it’s been a bit slow-going, but the stars have finally aligned. The long-awaited new theatre is about to open, and their first production calls for a particularly fiery female lead. This part has Laura’s name on it.
There’s her meddlesome older sister to get past – freshly returned from saving the world. Her occasional lover and stand-in leading man seems to think it’s all a waste of time. And probably best not to mention the audition to her mother, especially after what happened last time . . . Laura just has to stay one step ahead of them all.
Channelling the era of Hollywood’s silver screen and told in a voice that blends devil humour, quiet mayhem, and a singled-minded optimism that might just lead to disaster, Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame tells the story of a troubled soul desperate to find her place in life.
A witty and engaging heroine with a Holden Caulfield sensitivity to both phoniness and vulnerability . . . We can’t help but admire her heroic imperviousness to reality. After all, few people in this story aren’t deluded to some extent. But then, who isn’t? * Daily Mail *
An irreverent comedy, this is an infectious portrayal of brazen optimism which depicts the restorative power of ambition in times of overwhelming emotional turmoil. * Irish Times *
With cinematic zip and dazzling noir panache, McMonagle is back with a magical cracker, a new novel glistening as its historic sobriquet, ghosting the threadbare auditoria of the world. -- Patrick McCabe, author of The Butcher Boy
An irresistible comedy of delusion and hope against self-sabotaging hope. Laura Cassidy's Walk of Fame has the frenetic energy and lacerating wit of Donleavy, but with its own trampled soul and pathos, shot through with yearning and thwarted ambition that glitters like an opening night. Compulsively readable, painfully funny. -- Luke Kennard, author of The Transition
Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame is a moving, sharp and utterly original read. A swift flowing write, brim full of brilliant characters who sing from the pages. McMonagle is pitch perfect in his portrayal of sibling love and tension - of the complexity of family. This novel is a wonderful observation of love and loss, the over-whelming voice of unfulfilled dreams and brilliantly excavates the trauma of grief we carry. Absolutely loved it! -- Elaine Feeney, author of As You Were
Snappy and slapstick, sly and ironic, Alan McMonagle’s comic prose is entirely his own and told with an unerring musicality. -- Paul Lynch, author of Grace
My heart was broken for Laura, yet I felt hope, that her facility for fantasy, which is no doubt delusional, is also for her, a haven of starry optimism, a world where dreams remain in tact in spite of reality adamantly saying otherwise. Heartbreaking, warm, funny, relevant and insightful. -- Lisa Harding, author of Harvesting
The picture McMonagle frames is filled with both crowing laughter and pinched heartache, a shimmering, nuanced portrait of grief and failure. With the author's brains and the protagonist's talent, Laura Cassidy could go places. -- June Caldwell, author of Room Little Darker
ISBN: 9781509829880
Dimensions: 223mm x 143mm x 36mm
Weight: 428g
320 pages