Stations

Praise for Stations:

“A marvel.”–People, “Must Read Books of the Fall”

“Kennedy … writes about love like Sappho does, keenly attuned to that correlation between longing and lack, between pleasure and pain … Extraordinary.”—The Boston Globe

“Lays out a friendship that shapes a heart, and tears it… Desire and melancholy pull so fiercely on opposite sides of this book that it’s hard to close it.”—Ron Charles

“Sweeping in thematic scope … with deft prose and unforgettable characters.”—Chicago Review of Books

“Blisteringly good… [Kennedy’s] characters are messy, flawed, often shatteringly self-destructive but, mapped with her fierce compassion, they march straight off the page … Stations is at its heart a love story, a furious, tender, potty-mouthed paean to loyalty and generosity of spirit.”—The Guardian

“An astute, emotionally charged novel that examines the lasting effects of first love.” —Economist

“Captures with fino-dry wit the path of would-be lovers … [Kennedy] is particularly good at implying the psychology of her characters – especially the parts they fail to understand themselves… [and] remembering, and recreating, the teeming emotional complexities of youth.” —Financial Times

“Stunning … [Louise Kennedy]. . . has done it again with this exquisitely written story.” —Good Housekeeping

“Poignant and propulsive … Reminiscent of Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids, Stations captures the specifics of a particular time and place, but with ageless adolescent yearnings at its center. Kennedy is … a spare and unsentimental writer who can lull you into an easy laugh moments before slipping a stiletto through your heart.”—BookPage

“Kennedy’s heartbreaking novel is sad yet somehow hopeful and hauntingly luminous.”—Kirkus (STARRED review)

“A page-turner with depth and heart … as if Patti Smith’s Just Kids had been written by Roddy Doyle, this gem of a novel will entertain and move fans of literary fiction.” —Library Journal (STARRED review)

“A nuanced story of Irish expats in London. . . Once this gets its hooks in readers, it doesn’t let go.”—Publishers Weekly

“Brilliant and heartbreaking … one of the finest novels about unrequited love I’ve ever read.” –Elin Hilderbrand

“A lovely work of mourning and reclamation.” —Anne Enright

“A beautiful novel about loss and being lost.” —Nick Hornby

“A propulsive, powerful novel about first love and regret.” —Min Jin Lee

“I gulped this down – convinced, fascinated, and moved by every page.” —Emma Donoghue

“Unsparing and often hilarious … Full of startling insight and rich in social detail, this exceptionally strong second novel emphatically confirms Kennedy’s place in the front rank of Irish fiction.” —Times Literary Supplement

“A triumph of realist fiction … Both the writing and the central character, Roisin, wield a playful darkness that I found deeply satisfying.” —Observer

“When reading Stations, you are in the hands of an author who is able to move beyond her memory stores and flex her literary muscles … Kennedy continues to do what she does best.” ― The Times

“The heir to Edna O’Brien. Every bit as devastating, skillful and alive as her lauded debut novel. A masterwork. Brutal and perfect.” ―Irish Times