Raptures ‘Original and exciting, terrifying and hilarious’ Sunday Times Ireland
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Om bidragsyterne
Jan Carson is a writer based in Belfast. Her first novel, Malcolm Orange Disappears, was published in 2014 to critical acclaim, followed by a short-story collection, Children's Children (2016), and two flash fiction anthologies, Postcard Stories (2017) and Postcard Stories 2 (2020). Her second novel, The Fire Starters (2019), won the EU Prize for Literature and was shortlisted for the Dalkey Novel of the Year Award and her third novel, The Raptures (2022) was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year and the Kerry Group Novel of the Year. Her most recent short story collection, Quickly, While They Still Have Horses, was published in 2024. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and on BBC Radio 3 and 4. She has won the Harper's Bazaar short-story competition and has been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award, the An Post Irish Short Story of the Year, and the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize.<b>Absolutely MAGNIFICENT: dark, witty, charming. I LOVED it</b>
MARIAN KEYES
<b>Heart-rending, hilarious . . . It's a belter. </b>
LOUISE KENNEDY
An <b>Agatha Christie-esque whodunnit, a dark supernatural mystery</b> and an account of mass trauma. Carson forges these parts into a tragicomedy in which fantastic elements slot almost seamlessly alongside kitchen-sink realism...<b>compassionate and meticulously observed.'</b>
GUARDIAN
<b>Original and vivid, <i>The Raptures</i> is its own beautiful, unique thing</b>
IRISH TIMES
The book's beauty comes from its hilarious depiction of claustrophobic small-town life
Sunday Times
An<i> </i><b>utterly compulsive and gripping </b>portrayal of the brilliance of children, the power of intergenerational relationships, and the certainty of our human desire to belong. An utterly engrossing read - one that confronts the trauma of loss and the dangers of religious zealotry through powerful narrative, compelling characters and sharp wit. <b>Jan Carson is a true original. An absolute must read. Outstanding.</b>
ELAINE FEENEY
<i>The Raptures</i> is a <b>wonderful</b> piece of fiction. It engages the reader with a <b>clever </b>plot and with its <b>perfect portrayal </b>of parochial life in Northern Ireland imploded by tragedy told in <b>prose that shimmers with empathy, warmth and humanity.</b>
IRISH INDEPENDENT
<b>A fascinating tale of trauma, fury and panic.</b>
INDEPENDENT
I <b>gobbled up</b> <i>The Raptures. </i>It's a delightful read - sharp, <b>packed with wit and heart</b>, and always <b>utterly absorbing</b>. <i>And </i>it's got that perfectly Irish mix of darkness and humour, the smartarsed wink into the void.
LISA MCINERNEY
A <b>blistering</b> account of small-town Ulster life, <i>The Raptures </i>is unflinching in its exploration of the corrosive effects of fear and small-mindedness on a community, and the trauma wreaked by uncompromising religious fundamentalism on a young and tender soul. Rich in a <b>glorious</b> colloquial idiom, rich with Jan Carson's <b>sharp, sardonic</b> wit, it is ultimately a hopeful read, too, about the ways - whether we like it or not - we are all connected. This is a book <b>written from the guts and from the heart.</b>
LUCY CALDWELL
<b>An original and exciting work that's equal parts terrifying, hilarious and memorable... </b>It is truly one of those books in which every piece fits together like the cogs of a watch.
SUNDAY TIMES IRELAND
<b>Hilarious and heartbreaking </b>in equal measure<b>, </b><i>The Raptures </i>is a very special novel. Jan Carson is <b>a writer of astounding empathy, </b>giving every character - alive or dead -<b> a voice that rings brilliantly true. A real gem.</b>
RUTH GILLIGAN
<b>This superb book deserves all the plaudits and praise going.</b>
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT, IRELAND
<b>I laughed, cried, was enraptured.</b>
SAGA, BOOK OF THE MONTH
<p>Jan has <b>such a singular voice</b>; she is somehow able to write <b>gently and playfully </b>about the largest, most timely and tragic of topics. Here she has conjured a scenario that feels both very true and very mysterious.<b> I adored it</b>.</p>
SARA BAUME
<i>The Raptures</i> is <b>perfect and generous and beautifully crafted and everything I demand from a book</b>. And Hannah, brave and brilliant Hannah -- I've made up a room for her in my heart forever. <b>I'll be putting it in every hand this Christmas.</b>
KARL GEARY
An <b>instantly compelling </b>and novel take on a fractured society, <i>The Raptures</i> is a <b>captivating, clever book by a truly original writer</b>
Sarah Gilmartin