A story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence, Wild Houses is the first novel from award-winning writer Colin Barrett
As Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, the simmering feud between small-time dealer, Cillian English, and County Mayo’s fraternal enforcers, Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, spills over into violence and an ugly ultimatum.
When the reclusive Dev answers his door on Friday night he finds Doll – Cillian’s teenage brother – in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch. Jostled by his nefarious cousins and goaded by his dead mother’s dog, Dev is drawn headlong into the Ferdias’ revenge fantasy.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Nicky can’t shake the feeling something bad has happened to her boyfriend Doll. Hungover, reeling from a fractious Friday night and plagued by ghosts of her own, Nicky sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina.
Wild Houses was longlisted for the Booker Prize 2024.
Colin Barrett
About the Author
Colin Barrett grew up in County Mayo, Ireland, and is a short story writer and novelistA darkly comic account of frustration and misadventure in a small Irish town. A slow-burn study of character and fate that’s also an edge-of-your-seat thriller
— The 2024 judges on Wild Houses