The Outside Boy is truly charming at times, heartbreaking
at others, but always captivating. An atmospheric
coming-of-age story set in the world of the Irish
travellers, it will stay with you long after you've finished
the last page. -Lesley Kagen, author of Land of a Hundred
Wonders
In Hibernian society, there's hardly a
creature lower than the Irish tinker, a nomadic group 'tis
said was driven into the barren country by the
fundamentalist Cromwell to starve. Regardless, the modern
diminutive hero Christy, in Jeanine Cummins's gloriously
poetic novel, will burrow his way into your heart. It's not
often I hug a book, but with moist eyes and beginnings of a
song in my heart, I followed Christy's journey from a death
to hopeful life. Read this lovely book and you will hug
yourself. -Malachy McCourt
The Outside Boy is a
poignant and magical tale about the travelling people in
Ireland, a way of life all but vanished. Cummins captures
that world in pitch perfect prose, charming and beguiling
till the story nearly breaks your heart. -Keith Donohue,
author of The Stolen Child
The Outside Boy is such a
powerful read. I identified so strongly with this story of a
strange and gorgeous and vanishing way of life. It's an
adventure, and, yes, a eulogy, but it's also a full-throated
song of praise. I loved it. -Sherman Alexie, National Book
Award-winning author of The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian.
A lyrical journey along the
twisting path of gypsy life, The Outside Boy is part
coming-of-age novel, part mystery, and all heart. It's
easily one of the most beautiful and satisfying books I've
read this year. -Jennie Shortridge, author of When She
Flew
The Outside Boy will charm you, fascinate you,
delight you, snake into your heart and bust it wide open.
I'm hard pressed to think of a narrator more lovable than
Christy Hurley, who describes his lost, beautiful world ?
that of the Irish travellers in the late 1950s ? in prose
that's as profound as it is funny. What a graceful, perfect
book. -Carolyn Turgeon, author of Godmother: The Secret
Cinderella Story
Jeanine Cummins' debut novel is a
multi-layered, meticulously researched journey into the
elusive lives of the Irish travellers. Lucky for those of us
along for the ride, her dynamic tale unfurls through the
singular lens of the clever and charming Christopher Hurley,
a wise-beyond-his-years boy coming of age in a tiny corner
of history, but trying to answer the most universal of
questions: who am I and where did I come from? -T Cooper,
author of Lipshitz Six or Two Angry Blondes
You do
not need to love Ireland to love The Outside Boy. You only
need to love life and to have once been as young and fresh
of heart as the book's marvelous narrator. You will enter
the rare realm of the travelers, yet feel completely at
home, living Christy's youth as if it were your own,
laughing with him and feeling his heart race and suffering
his hurts and rejoicing at his ultimate triumph. You will
reach the last page smiling through tears and give thanks
for a writer of uncommon talent. And it will stay with you,
making you Irish in the very best way even if you are
not.-Michael Daly, author of The Book of Mychal
The
Outside Boy has found a permanent home in my head and heart
and on the shelf with authors like J.M. Barrie, Roddy Doyle,
and Sue Monk Kidd. A flawless coming-of-rage story
overflowing with talent, heartbreak, and joy. -Jennifer
Belle, bestselling author of Going Down and High Maintenance
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