Praise for GENERATION
'The voices are beautifully woven together, and the prose has a weight and resonance way beyond the book’s slender length. The rhythm of the writing varies according to the character being described, bu the general sense is of stark clarity and poetic compression. Think Raymond Carver, not James Joyce. One of the most striking things about McGrath's impressive debut is the sureness of her voice, and tone. Also, her ambition: this little novel stretches across 80 years, and three continents and into an astonishing range of different heads...There is certainly beauty in this prose.'
— Christina Patterson, The Sunday Times
‘It’s as if McGrath has spun her novel in a centrifuge, separating out disparate characters drawn to America over several decades. A gripping debut.’
— Jane Housham, The Guardian
'An ambitious debut exploring the effect one generation has on the next.'
— Irish Examiner
'Paula McGrath has created a startling first novel . . . Akin to Colm Toibin's Brooklyn, Generation is as much about the bonds between strangers as those in families. A powerful meditation on the promise, and disillusionments, of migration.'
— New Statesman
'Each new narrator gives the reader a fresh slant on the story and ensures that the resulting journey is never dull. As the book went on, the storyline became more intense and gripping. I couldn't put it down. In fact, one night, I put the book down before bed and I had to get up and finish it at about two in the morning because I needed to know what was going to happen next! . . . [Generation] felt fresh, new and different and I will be interested to see what this promising author comes up with next.'
— Louise Jones, The Bookbag
'Spanning generations and continents on an epic scale in a short space, Paula McGrath's ambitious, sensitive novel, Generation has been compared to The Spinning Heart, by Donal Ryan because of its similarly revolving points of view.'
— Irish Independent
Read more reviews here
French edition published by Quai Voltaire, January 2017.
Translated by Cécile Arnaud.
Éric Neuhoff, Le Figaro Littéraire
Corinne Renou-Nativel, La Croix
Claude Fierobe, En attendant Nadeau
Praise for A HISTORY OF RUNNING AWAY
'This beautifully written novel is urgently contemporary in its concerns but is also a quietly compelling exploration of the notions of home and belonging. Paula McGrath is a wonderful storyteller with a vivid sense of place and person.'
— Joseph O'Connor
'McGrath captures Dublin of the 1980s perfectly . . . Ambitious, both structurally and narratively, and elegantly written. On the strength of her first two novels, I think it's fair to say that Paula McGrath is one of our better young writers.'
— John Boyne, Irish Times
'A thoroughly modern, engaging and sophisticated novel about women who reach for better lives and are forced to run away to achieve them.'
— Liz Nugent
'Depicts a brutal world with astonishing tenderness and builds a clever, intriguing story, creating memorable characters along the way.'
— Emma Henderson
'Elegant . . . Compelling reading.'
— Daily Mail
'The writing is fluid and accessible, the dialogue and setting authentic, proving Paula McGrath both a consummate storyteller and an excellent observer of human interactions.'
— Sunday Independent
'McGrath writes well and delivers some fine flourishes.'
— Irish Sunday Times
'A keen eye for both poignancy and humanity.'
— Irish Independent