Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way by Elaine Feeney. Published by Harvill Secker, €16.99
Shortlisted on a couple of occasions for the Irish Novel of the Year Award, west of Ireland author Elaine Feeney came to the attention of a global audience two years ago with her novel How to Build a Boat, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and was named as one of New Yorker’s Best Books of the Year.
Understandably, her 2025 novel Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way was eagerly anticipated, being signposted as one of the books to watch for this year by almost everyone.
Now it is here, and Feeney will not disappoint her legions of admirers. It may not earn the plaudits of How to Build a Boat, but the author has managed to tell a gripping story, set in two eras, about a woman whom we find hard to like. Feeney writes about what she knows, sets the novel in the west of the country, and included chapters about a horse – which are some of the best parts of the book.
Following the death of her mother, 40-something Claire O’Connor moves back to Ireland to care for her father who is dying. She breaks up with Tom Morton, an English writer, and reluctantly leaves cosmopolitan London. Claire answers the telephone one day, to the news that her ex-boyfriend is going to move to Ireland, and to her hometown, one that he never visited when they were together.
The questioning starts. Why now? What does it mean? Does it even mean anything? The unexpected news takes Claire down a path of re-examination, not only of the end of her love affair with Tom, but the death of her mother, and her return home which was a catalyst for the breakdown of their relationship.
The story has a dual timeline, and occasionally we are taken right back to 1920, the Irish War of Independence and the violence of the Black and Tans. We discover the intergenerational trauma that affected not only Claire’s family, and her upbringing, but that of the community. There is the pain of staying and the pain of leaving.
Readers will be familiar with many of the characters in the book, some of whom are stereotypes, and like Claire, are not especially likeable. The story ultimately will leave you pondering after you’ve finished, but it is one of love and resilience, well-written by Feeney, but not sparse with its language as you might expect from someone who is a poet first.
Rich in history and drama, Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way reveals the legacies of violence and redemption as the secrets of the past unfold.
The Book Corner’s trio of treasures...
The Classic
Personal History by Katharine Graham. Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, (Hachette) €21.74
With a matter-of-fact title characteristic of the author, and published in 1997, four years before Katharine Graham died at the age of 84, this book won the Pulitzer Prize for biography or autobiography.
Graham was publisher of the Washington Post from the 1960s through to the 1980s. She approved the publication of the Pentagon Papers, and backed her reporters and editors as they investigated and broke the Watergate stories, which would ultimately lead to President Nixon’s 1974 resignation. A pillar of Washington’s social and political elite, Graham was the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
What’s striking is the manner in which she recounts her life, the good and the dark days. She is honest, especially about her marriage to Philip and his subsequent suicide, and gracious about the support and encouragement she received as she considered assuming control of the newspaper. A life well-lived.
The History
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow.
Published by Allen Lane, €58
The Pulitzer prize winning biographer Ron Chernow, responsible for Washington: A Life, has now come up with a contender for a second such accolade, simply titled Mark Twain. In it he recounts the complex and fascinating life of the man commonly referred to as ‘the father of American Literature’.
This is surely set to become the ultimate biography of the man who was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835. One of the most original characters in literary history, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated and quoted. The book details how shamelessly he sought fame and fortune and meticulously crafted his persona.
The author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was the only white author of his generation to grapple fully with the legacy of slavery. Yet, in the pursuit of riches his business ventures bankrupted him, leading to almost a decade of exile in Europe.
For Enjoyment
It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara. Published by Bantam Press, €16
Living in Dublin with her husband and three children, Andrea Mara is a best-selling author, with sales of more than 500,000. That figure is set to grow substantially following the publication of her latest work, It Should Have Been You. This is an unputdownable thriller, and fellow authors and admirers of Mara and this genre all seem to suggest that it is her best work to date.
You press send on your phone. Full of secrets about your neighbours, it’s meant for your sister. It doesn’t reach her, and instead goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group. Rumour spreads like wildfire through the neighbourhood, but you convince yourself that people will move on. Then you receive the first death threat.
The next day, a woman is murdered. What’s more chilling is that she has the same address as you, 26 Oakpark, but in a different part of town.
Did the killer get the wrong house? It won’t be long before you find out.
Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way by Elaine Feeney. Published by Harvill Secker, €16.99
Shortlisted on a couple of occasions for the Irish Novel of the Year Award, west of Ireland author Elaine Feeney came to the attention of a global audience two years ago with her novel How to Build a Boat, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and was named as one of New Yorker’s Best Books of the Year.
Understandably, her 2025 novel Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way was eagerly anticipated, being signposted as one of the books to watch for this year by almost everyone.
Now it is here, and Feeney will not disappoint her legions of admirers. It may not earn the plaudits of How to Build a Boat, but the author has managed to tell a gripping story, set in two eras, about a woman whom we find hard to like. Feeney writes about what she knows, sets the novel in the west of the country, and included chapters about a horse – which are some of the best parts of the book.
Following the death of her mother, 40-something Claire O’Connor moves back to Ireland to care for her father who is dying. She breaks up with Tom Morton, an English writer, and reluctantly leaves cosmopolitan London. Claire answers the telephone one day, to the news that her ex-boyfriend is going to move to Ireland, and to her hometown, one that he never visited when they were together.
The questioning starts. Why now? What does it mean? Does it even mean anything? The unexpected news takes Claire down a path of re-examination, not only of the end of her love affair with Tom, but the death of her mother, and her return home which was a catalyst for the breakdown of their relationship.
The story has a dual timeline, and occasionally we are taken right back to 1920, the Irish War of Independence and the violence of the Black and Tans. We discover the intergenerational trauma that affected not only Claire’s family, and her upbringing, but that of the community. There is the pain of staying and the pain of leaving.
Readers will be familiar with many of the characters in the book, some of whom are stereotypes, and like Claire, are not especially likeable. The story ultimately will leave you pondering after you’ve finished, but it is one of love and resilience, well-written by Feeney, but not sparse with its language as you might expect from someone who is a poet first.
Rich in history and drama, Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way reveals the legacies of violence and redemption as the secrets of the past unfold.
The Book Corner’s trio of treasures...
The Classic
Personal History by Katharine Graham. Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, (Hachette) €21.74
With a matter-of-fact title characteristic of the author, and published in 1997, four years before Katharine Graham died at the age of 84, this book won the Pulitzer Prize for biography or autobiography.
Graham was publisher of the Washington Post from the 1960s through to the 1980s. She approved the publication of the Pentagon Papers, and backed her reporters and editors as they investigated and broke the Watergate stories, which would ultimately lead to President Nixon’s 1974 resignation. A pillar of Washington’s social and political elite, Graham was the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
What’s striking is the manner in which she recounts her life, the good and the dark days. She is honest, especially about her marriage to Philip and his subsequent suicide, and gracious about the support and encouragement she received as she considered assuming control of the newspaper. A life well-lived.
The History
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow.
Published by Allen Lane, €58
The Pulitzer prize winning biographer Ron Chernow, responsible for Washington: A Life, has now come up with a contender for a second such accolade, simply titled Mark Twain. In it he recounts the complex and fascinating life of the man commonly referred to as ‘the father of American Literature’.
This is surely set to become the ultimate biography of the man who was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835. One of the most original characters in literary history, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated and quoted. The book details how shamelessly he sought fame and fortune and meticulously crafted his persona.
The author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was the only white author of his generation to grapple fully with the legacy of slavery. Yet, in the pursuit of riches his business ventures bankrupted him, leading to almost a decade of exile in Europe.
For Enjoyment
It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara. Published by Bantam Press, €16
Living in Dublin with her husband and three children, Andrea Mara is a best-selling author, with sales of more than 500,000. That figure is set to grow substantially following the publication of her latest work, It Should Have Been You. This is an unputdownable thriller, and fellow authors and admirers of Mara and this genre all seem to suggest that it is her best work to date.
You press send on your phone. Full of secrets about your neighbours, it’s meant for your sister. It doesn’t reach her, and instead goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group. Rumour spreads like wildfire through the neighbourhood, but you convince yourself that people will move on. Then you receive the first death threat.
The next day, a woman is murdered. What’s more chilling is that she has the same address as you, 26 Oakpark, but in a different part of town.
Did the killer get the wrong house? It won’t be long before you find out.
SHARING OPTIONS