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Snowflake by Louise Nealon x-book

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Snowflake

Publisher
Manilla Press
Publish Date
10 May 2021
Run Time
7 hours 49 minutes
Format
x-book®
Rating
5.0 (1 review)

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What to expect

**Don't miss Louise Nealon's incredible new novel EVERYTHING THAT IS BEAUTIFUL**

WINNER NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2021 AT THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS

'Wonderful and mad' Roddy Doyle
'Sparks with tender charm and humour . . . Fresh, bleakly funny' Sunday Times
'Tender, laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving' Louise O'Neill
'GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching' Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups
'A novel for anyone who's ever felt lost in the world' John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
'Sharp, clever and affecting' The Independent
'Beautifully written . . . emotionally intelligent and thought-provoking' Daily Mail
'Astonishing' Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars

Debbie's brain isn't perfect. Debbie's thoughts aren't unique. Debbie's dreams are all too real.

Debbie White lives on a dairy farm with her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. Billy sleeps out in a caravan in the garden with a bottle of whiskey and the stars overhead for company. Maeve spends her days recording her dreams, which she believes to be prophecies.


This world is Debbie's normal, but she is about to step into life as a student at Trinity College Dublin. As she navigates between sophisticated new friends and the family bubble, things begin to unravel. Maeve's eccentricity tilts into something darker, while Billy's drinking gets worse. Debbie struggles to cope with the weirdest, most difficult parts of herself and her small life. But if the Whites are mad, they are also fiercely loving, and each other's true place of safety.


Startling, fresh and utterly unique, Snowflake is a story of messy families, messier friendships and how new chapters often mean starting right back at the beginning.

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME PICK WINNER OF SUNDAY INDEPENDENT NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2021, AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS

'Wonderful' Roddy Doyle
'Sparks with tender charm and humour . . . Fresh, bleakly funny' Sunday Times
'Sharp, clever and affecting' The Independent
'Beautifully written . . . emotionally intelligent and thought-provoking' Daily Mail
'GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching' Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups
'A novel for anyone who's ever felt lost in the world' John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
'Astonishing' Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars

Eighteen-year-old Debbie White lives on a dairy farm with her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. Billy sleeps out in a caravan in the garden with a bottle of whiskey and the stars overhead for company. Maeve spends her days recording her dreams, which she believes to be prophecies.

This world is Debbie's normal, but she is about to step into life as a student at Trinity College in Dublin. As she navigates between sophisticated new friends and the family bubble, things begin to unravel. Maeve's eccentricity tilts into something darker, while Billy's drinking gets worse. Debbie struggles to cope with the weirdest, most difficult parts of herself, her family and her small life. But the fierce love of the White family is never in doubt, and Debbie discovers that even the oddest of families are places of safety.

A startling, honest, laugh and cry novel about growing up and leaving home, only to find that you've taken it with you, Snowflake is a novel for a generation, and for everyone who's taken those first, terrifying steps towards adulthood.

Critics Review

  • Snowflake is a beautiful novel; tender, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply moving

    Louise O’Neill

  • An astonishing achievement. Louise Nealon is ridiculously talented; already I'm greedy for more

    Stacey Halls

  • Mad and wonderful. I thought I was reading one thing, then discovered - several times as I read - that I was reading a different, even better thing

    Roddy Doyle

  • GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching

    Marian Keyes

See more reviews
  • An incredibly ambitious debut, beautifully written

    Sam Baker

  • A novel for anyone who's ever felt lost in the world, Louise Nealon balances humour and tragedy in a sharp debut

    John Boyne

  • It's a long time since I've loved a novel as much as Snowflake. The prose shines with observations about life love family mental health, milking the cows and what it means to be coming of age in the times we live in - I felt I had discovered a diamond - a real treasure!

    Christy Lefteri

  • Snowflake is raw, sharp-sighted, affirming, and also very very funny. Louise Nealon's prose shimmers as do her irregular and damaged characters. Stunning

    Una Mannion

  • Can a young woman be innocent yet outrageous, longing to succeed at university yet close to failing, deeply embarrassed by her manic depressive mother yet devoted? Yes, yes, yes. Louise Nealon's beguiling narrator Debbie is all these things, and much more. Snowflake is a wonderfully inventive, deeply felt novel full of the best kinds of surprises.

    Margot Livesey

  • Nealon balances humour and devastation well in this relatable novel.

    Irish Examiner - 15 debuts to watch out for in 2021

User Reviews

Book 5.0

Narration 5.0

  • 5.0 5.0

    Love Louisa Harland’s narration of this endearing and sentimental story of these precious characters. It flowed like she knew this moreish novel so well. Even the cheeky quips the characters gave had me chuckling with the cheeky emphasis expressed with what felt like a smile.

    rob8ee 2026-04-21

Details

Author
Louise Nealon
Narrator
Louisa Harland
Duration
7 hours 49 minutes
Release Date
10 May 2021
ISBN
9781786580726
Format
x-book®
Publisher
Manilla Press
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Humorous fiction, Narrative theme: sense of place
Rating
5.0(1 review)
Narration
5.0(1 review)

Synopsis

**Don't miss Louise Nealon's incredible new novel EVERYTHING THAT IS BEAUTIFUL**WINNER NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2021 AT THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS'Wonderful and mad' Roddy Doyle'Sparks with tender charm and humour . . . Fresh, bleakly funny' Sunday Times'Tender, laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving' Louise O'Neill'GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching' Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups'A novel for anyone who's ever felt lost in the world' John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies'Sharp, clever and affecting' The Independent'Beautifully written . . . emotionally intelligent and thought-provoking' Daily Mail'Astonishing' Stacey Halls, author of The FamiliarsDebbie's brain isn't perfect. Debbie's thoughts aren't unique. Debbie's dreams are all too real.Debbie White lives on a dairy farm with her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. Billy sleeps out in a caravan in the garden with a bottle of whiskey and the stars overhead for company. Maeve spends her days recording her dreams, which she believes to be prophecies.This world is Debbie's normal, but she is about to step into life as a student at Trinity College Dublin. As she navigates between sophisticated new friends and the family bubble, things begin to unravel. Maeve's eccentricity tilts into something darker, while Billy's drinking gets worse. Debbie struggles to cope with the weirdest, most difficult parts of herself and her small life. But if the Whites are mad, they are also fiercely loving, and each other's true place of safety.Startling, fresh and utterly unique, Snowflake is a story of messy families, messier friendships and how new chapters often mean starting right back at the beginning.A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME PICK WINNER OF SUNDAY INDEPENDENT NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2021, AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS'Wonderful' Roddy Doyle'Sparks with tender charm and humour . . . Fresh, bleakly funny' Sunday Times'Sharp, clever and affecting' The Independent'Beautifully written . . . emotionally intelligent and thought-provoking' Daily Mail'GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching' Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups'A novel for anyone who's ever felt lost in the world' John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies'Astonishing' Stacey Halls, author of The FamiliarsEighteen-year-old Debbie White lives on a dairy farm with her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. Billy sleeps out in a caravan in the garden with a bottle of whiskey and the stars overhead for company. Maeve spends her days recording her dreams, which she believes to be prophecies.This world is Debbie's normal, but she is about to step into life as a student at Trinity College in Dublin. As she navigates between sophisticated new friends and the family bubble, things begin to unravel. Maeve's eccentricity tilts into something darker, while Billy's drinking gets worse. Debbie struggles to cope with the weirdest, most difficult parts of herself, her family and her small life. But the fierce love of the White family is never in doubt, and Debbie discovers that even the oddest of families are places of safety.A startling, honest, laugh and cry novel about growing up and leaving home, only to find that you've taken it with you, Snowflake is a novel for a generation, and for everyone who's taken those first, terrifying steps towards adulthood.

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