The Glorious Heresies: Winner of the Baileys' Women's Prize for Fiction 2016

Issie's Book Group collective review

KATIE: From the first chapter I was captivated by the language ( not the swearing ) some of the writing was superb.
It's such a gritty book and not one that I would have ever chosen to read. There is a wonderful eclectic mix of characters who you would never think to like but I did care about some of them. It was a world that I wouldn't have said existed in that area of Ireland and it was great that it was set in present times.The book gave a fascinating insight into the underbelly of Cork and a whole society that most of us never encounter.
The story brilliantly weaves between the characters and how all their lives are interwoven from a single deed !
Most of the character' actions are shocking yet I wanted to read more and find out what happened to them all and how they would link together.

I loved reading about their relationships even though most of them were destructive , but even through that there were odd glimmers of good. Tony did try in the end to repair some of the damage with Ryan. Ryan helped Georgie , Maureen was great and such a bonkers person but I really liked her.
It was a story about loyalties and family and what happens when thinks go off track.There were passages that made me laugh and I think the author brilliantly wove these sections in so it felt like a black comedy at times.

The snipes at the church were very thought provoking often in a comedic way but very much a part of the story and the whole history of Ireland. The church has been a powerful influence for so long and it was interesting to see characters trying to pull away and react to it.
It was a dark story but it never felt that way.
I liked the ending , I didn't want Ryan to totally screw his life up and I felt that Maureen had come full circle in her quest to help him. Maybe that some good would come from the whole sorry saga .

HELEN: What a rollicking rollercoaster ride through some of the darkest places in Cork! This book made me laugh, wince and cry. The writing was lyrical and somehow fast-paced too. The characters jumped off the page right away, from the dour murderess Maureen to the gorgeous lost soul Ryan and everyone in between. Georgie's story in particular was haunting; Lisa McInerney hides nothing in her descriptions of the squalor, shame and danger of prostitution and drug addiction, and yet still manages to deliver humanity and dignity to her characters. You want them to succeed, or at the very least escape. A frightening portrayal of modern Cork and yet narrated with such humour and care that you find yourself believing, against all odds, that things will improve.

I loved it - couldn't put it down - and it is not a book I necessarily would have chosen.

GERALDINE: Lisa McInerney present the reader with an unflinching approach to her depiction of the underbelly of Cork city lowlife. She tackles the themes of drugs, prostitution and gangland culture head on, not sparing anyone’s blushes, but at the same time there is a sense of affection for her characters.

The hapless Ryan is both vulnerable – neglected by his dad and a school truant – and dangerous – a teen drug dealer who does what is necessary to fit in. His girlfriend, Karine, who is clearly from better stock, rather endearingly stands by him and their fragile relationship is a small beacon of hope. Contrast this with the hilarious plot of murder and mayhem and you really are in for a roller-coaster ride. Maureen, the unwitting murderer (I’m giving nothing away here) and her son Jimmy, the local Mafia-style bad boy have a hideously funny relationship. It might sound a little trite but they could only be Irish – the lyrical tone of McInerney’s writing has echoes of the playwright JM Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. For instance, Maureen is described as “crazier than a dustbin fox”. The difference is that The Glorious Heresies is very much in the present – there is a more toxic kind of undercurrent of danger. Naturally, religion is one of the themes in the story – a rather irreverent use of a religious trinket contrasts with the religious fervour attempted by the tragically pathetic figure of Georgie, the lost prostitute and drug user. These characters are all connected through the central murder and you find yourself laughing and crying at their fortunes, and mainly misfortunes. The humour is dark and the writing is visceral. The Glorious Heresies is not for the faint-hearted but neither is it that shocking; it just has a brutal honesty. Part of the joy of reading and being asked to take on works outside your comfort zone is that you can discover little gems such as this.

Our book group was proud to be selected to shadow the Baileys Prize for the second year running and our chosen book was The Glorious Heresies. This is not a book that any of us would have read personally or as part of a book group and despite the strong and unrelatable subject matters, we found this book strangely readable and enjoyable. The writing style is unique and full of dark humour (and bad language!) The characters who see murder, drug-dealing and prostitution as normal, every-day occurrences were interesting to read about. Although they had many faults, we wanted each of them to move away from the dark side of Cork life and live life to their full potential. Bright teenager Ryan is the ‘hero’ of the story and despite his drug-dealing and constant cheating on his girlfriend, you can’t help but like him and will him to move away from his life with his abusive father. Maureen is another strong character and is the one to start the events of the novel in motion. The estranged mother of a Cork gangster, she accidentally kills a man in her own kitchen and the consequences last across the years and cause chaos for a cast of characters who are all drawn together in a battle to survive. This book is a commentary on the sad ways of the seedy side of city life which most of us will find as an alien world (I hope!) as well as modern day relationship with the Catholic Church. There is some understanding on why these characters have ended up as they have and think that there is no way out. This book will make you cry, gasp with horror and fill you with hope that this group of misfits will all be okay. I can see this as being the winner of the Baileys Prize 2016!

A close runner to Ruby this one for me, a similar theme of cruelty breeding cruelty in a perpetual cycle. Perhaps Karine should have baked an angel lay cake...

So what to say - very, very bleak but taut and pacy, grim but compelling, depressingly believable. Reading it felt like being constantly smacked in the face!

Just didn't get why anyone would think it was 'fiendishly hilarious'?

From Caroline - Houghton Book Group