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The much-anticipated second novel from author Annie Macmanus, The Mess We’re In is a vibrant, unforgettable tale of a chaotic young woman finding her feet and her sound at such a memorable point in London’s cultural and musical history. Orla makes a few poor and impulsive decision along the way, but hey didn’t we all in our early 20’s? I’m so sad it’s over. I could have read another sixty chapters . . . A fantastic read’ JOANNE MCNALLY Terrified about the current volatile state of the western world? Anxiety levels high? Concerned about what is happening (or, for that matter, not happening) to our politics, society, culture? Then perhaps this book is ideal for you…
The author really captures the energy of ‘finding yourself’ as a young person in your twenties. The fun & possibilities. The chance for reinvention and taking chances. The euphoric heights and soul crushing lows - and Orla certainly experiences all of this. It's the turn of the millennium and, landing in London with nothing but her CD collection and demo tape, Orla Quinn moves into a squalid Kilburn house with her best mate and a band called Shiva. As someone who grew up surrounded by music and, with a brother who was steeped in the local band scene, I loved the attention to detail with all its rawness and grit. Annie Macmanus breathes life into all her characters placing the reader right in the middle of the, at times, almost anarchic life of Orla Quinn. This is a book full of passion and life, a book that beats to its own drum, an exhilarating reading experience. Annie Macmanus knows the music industry well, adding a real authentic and trusted layer to this tale.So vivid . . . What [Macmanus has] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people, is terrific, and deeply moving’ RODDY DOYLE
A book about finding home in a strange new place, and finding yourself when your life is a mess. The hotly anticipated second novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author of Mother Mother I perhaps need a bit more time to digest this book and all that it made me feel. The things I really loved was the authenticity of life as a 20-something just out of college in the year 2001, I was just a year younger than the character at this time and it made me reminisce so much about the music/gig scene and political feelings of the time. Although Orla is nothing like me, I felt I understood where she was coming from and in particular her relationships with her family. The correlation with Orla's Da and what I also experienced in my mid-20s was very well written and I felt all the emotions in my core. Annie McManus writes beautifully with such description and I truly enjoyed absorbing every word lyrically.Loved the characters in the pub she works at too. I can definitely chime with those older Irish men full of yearning and Guinness - I have plenty in my own family When everyone’s gone from the pub, Pat lets her tiredness take her over, her mouth sagging downwards into an upside down U. I could barely read this one fast enough. It absolutely fizzes with the energy of youth as Orla navigates her new life in the city. Living with a band on the brink of stardom and trying to find her own feet in the music business, her new life is full of opportunity and excitement. Very touching descriptions of lonely older generation Irish, both women and men who left Ireland and stayed in London.
Published May 2023, The Mess We're In is the second book from Sunday Times Bestselling author Annie Macmanus. Do you ever read something and instantly think this needs to be adapted into a series? Because that’s the case with The Mess We’re In!But as the hype around the band intensifies, so does the hedonism, and relationships in the house are growing strained. This is the story of a young woman thrashing through life, trying to find home in a strange new place. The Mess We’re In by Annie Macmanus is published with Wildfire and is described by Sara Cox as ‘beautifully painted, well set up and realistic’. A very astute overview of problems with our political systems in the present day. Not just in Australia, but in other major allies as well (the UK and USA) It describes how greed has overtaken humanity. How people are losing confidence in the people they chose to represent them. A powerful and occasionally polemical appeal to reason in politics; if you're despairing in search of an antidote to the poison of "alternative facts", here's your book. Like any good political text, there's something here to offend everyone. You'll want to cheer, high-five and occasionally shout your disagreement, but what you won't want to do is put it down.' Set in Kilburn, The Mess We’re In is the story of a young Irish woman, Orla Quinn, as she embarks on her London odyssey with hope and expectation. Orla moves into a room in a house-share with her friend Neema and Neema’s brother, who is part of a band called Shiva. All the other band-mates live in the house also. Neema is a law student with a clear career path ahead of her, with Orla’s sights set on the music industry. Orla writes music, plays guitar and has studied music production. She understands the music but she has no direct experience of the music industry. Living with a band has possibilities for Orla but she needs to bide her time and put in some hard and dirty work.
While Orla's own dreams seem to be going nowhere, Shiva are on the brink of something big. But as the hype around the band intensifies, so does the hedonism, and relationships in the house are growing strained. After moving to Cheltneham via Dublin for uni, Orla is ready to take on the big smoke and moves in with an up and coming band, Shiva in Kilburn. (Or County Kilburn if you will 😂). Orla juggles trying to achieve a career within music for herself all while balancing two jobs and a headonistic lifestyle. I'm so sad it's over. I could have read another sixty chapters . . . A fantastic read' JOANNE MCNALLY
The revised tenth anniversary edition is published on 14 June 2022 in the US, and 15 July 2022 in many other countries. Gerry blinks, looking at his pint, and says, - we don’t all get the luxury of belonging where we’re born. It’s 2000, and she makes the more with her best friend Neema who she met at uni in Cheltenham. Neema’s brother Kesh is in a band - Shiva, along with Richie and Frank, and they have a spare room that Neema and Orla can move into.
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