The Glorious Heresies

"He wondered, as he walked, about the turns that made a man a murderer."

This novels starts when Maureen, a middle aged woman living alone, kills an intruder in her home by hitting him on the head with a religious knick knack. She calls her son, Jimmy Phelan, a man who gets things done. The man who cleans up the mess at Jimmy Phelan's behest is Tony Cusack, an alcoholic father of six, a widow who truly loves his kids. His oldest kid, Ryan, is a good soul who, at age fifteen gets involved in small-time, and then big-time drug dealing as he also falls in love with Karina, a young woman who has dreams of her own. And those dreams involve Ryan. In addition to these colorful characters, the novel is peopled with prostitutes, drifters, hit show more men, and drug dealers but this is not a dark or desperate tale. Neither is it a whitewashed treatment of violence and graft. It's a balanced novel in which both good and lousy luck, and both wise and stupid choices, determine each character's fate. And it's the almost unbelievable manner in which all these characters are interconnected that provides the novel's momentum. The characters, flawed and (most of them) richly wrought, are memorable and multidimensional. Her ability to create such characters has to be McInerney's greatest strength as a novelist although her wry humor and ironic storytelling voice are notable as well. I didn't quite buy the ending but the journey to get there was delightful and worthwhile. show less

Author Lisa McInerney shows off virtuoso skills in a first novel set in the seamy side of Cork. Events are set in motion when the mother of a local hoodlum comes across an intruder in her kitchen and brains him with a souvenir stone decorated with a garish portrait of the Virgin Mary. What follows is a dark story, with characters facing day-to-day struggles just to survive, and not all of them succeeding. The style is gritty, perhaps overly so. I had the sense that the depiction of life in the drug and sex trade is spot-on. I hope, though, that the author’s next novel might find a setting less filled with doom. There are occasional flashes of humor here. It would be great to let them shine through a little more.

This is beautifully written. Its themes are: the sins of the fathers..., How religion f*cks people up, how religion f*cks Ireland up, how alcohol and cocaine f*ck people up, how Humans hurt and kill each other, how "love" f*cks people up....these are the main themes.

Tony meets an Italian woman in London, they fall in lust and get a baby, and then five more, and they're drinking all the time, so when they have a huge fight (bigger than the other huge fights), she gets in her car and drives it into a ditch--boom, she's dead. Now Tony and his kids are left alone with his drinking. Ryan, his oldest, gets Tony's fists in his face to pay for Tony's guilt.

Ryan is a drug dealer, and is connected with Georgie the sex worker, Ms Duane, his show more nextdoor neighbor, who is also connected to Cork's biggest gangster, and Ryan's dad. There're are more connections, and violence, tears, jail, hospitals, churches, religious cults...read it for yourself. McInery is a writer who knows how ugly the human soul can be, but the redemption that is possible therein. show less

I loved this winner of the 2016 Bailey's Prize. Its complex and exquisite characters are all connected in one way or another with the murder which opens the book. Grandmother Maureen Phelan has just (accidently?) bashed in the head of an unidentified intruder. She calls her son, Jimmy Phelan, Cork crime gang boss, to clean up the mess. He enlists the help of Tony Cusack, a small-time criminal existing on the fringe of Cork's criminal underground trying to raise his children after the death of his wife and while battling an alcohol problem. Tony's oldest son, teenager Ryan, is also a major character as he edges toward a life of crime moving into adulthood. Much of the book deals with his loving relationship with Karine, his girlfriend. show more Other major characters are Georgie, a former prostitute and drug addict who joins a religious cult after her boyfriend mysteriously disappears, and Tara Duane, Tony Cusack's next door neighbor and nemesis, who is also involved in criminal activities of her own.

The book is dark, for sure, but it is also humorous and touching. It's morally complex, and despite their foibles I was rooting for these people, especially Ryan. McInerney wonderfully depicts her cast of characters--from 70ish Maureen to teenagers Ryan and Karine--and pulls together the dark issues of alcohol and drugs, child abuse and prostitution, poverty and crime. Just don't expect a happy ending.

4 stars show less

This debut novel by an Irish blogger (“Arse End of Ireland” is the name of her blog) takes place in the city of Cork. It took me a bit to get into the cadence of this voice of this book before it sang for me. And it’s dark . . . very dark . . . and violent. It’s also darkly funny; the creative cursing is mind-boggling -- and I’m no prude (if you took out all of the f-bombs, it would be about 50 pages lighter, just sayin’).

But. This book. McInerney is a brilliant writer. These characters are so real and well drawn. She does a masterful job of seeing characters from all points of view. And, the way she is able to write the Irish dialect without completely re-spelling every word is just perfect. Once you get the hang of it, show more you can hear every word. I understand she has a two-book deal. I’m already looking forward to the next one. Highly recommended. show less

Crime, crimelords, ghosts, Catholic cults, burning churches, and a sense of humor: what more could one ask for in a book? This is more a "crime" than a "mystery" novel, although it was reviewed as such in the NYT--or at least in that section. Well, I guess it's a crime/mystery section. In any case, Heresies is, indeed, glorious. Then again, maybe I just like feisty old Irish women with whom I share a first name.

For a totally horrifying, depressing look at the underbelly of Cork, Ireland, this was great. As a study of how a pretty decent kid can be totally fucked up by his situation, it's excellent.

When an older lady bludgeons an intruder with a religious icon, it causes a ripple effect through a group of people living on the fringes of society: her crime king son, his alcoholic old friend, the friend's impressionable teenage drug-dealing son, their leacherous neighbor, and a drug-addicted prostitute. These ripples will lead to more murders and crimes, rehab, prison, and a religious cult.

This is dark drama with a touch of Irish humor. Ms. McInerney made me really feel for her characters -- even the truly despicable ones. There's a sequel show more featuring Ryan Cusack (the aforemenioned teen drug-dealer), but I don't know if I can handle more of the heartbreak, especially since reviews indicate that the sequel focuses more on the crime/gang world of Cork and lacks the dark humor of the first book. show less