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Annie Macmanus’s second novel hints at what to expect from the title alone - “The Mess We’re In”. Dubliner Orla has moved to England, hoping her life will finally begin, that she will get her break into music and become the person she assumes she will be. But this is not a Cinderella story, and Orla’s life is a mess when we meet her first (moving with her best friend Neema from Cheltenham to London), and things don’t really change as the narrative progresses. A heady mix of thrills and heartbreak . . . I enjoyed it so so much' GRAHAM NORTON'What [Macmanus has] managed to do with London, and what London means to different generations of Irish people, is terrific, and deeply moving' RODDY DOYLEI'm a Londoner now.
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… 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 When everyone’s gone from the pub, Pat lets her tiredness take her over, her mouth sagging downwards into an upside down U.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. I just finished listening to this. Firstly, I loved the fact that Annie Mac read this. She has such a nice voice and clearly had a vision for how she wanted the story to get across. Coming of age book which anyone who has left home to try to find themselves/leave a mess behind will identify with. I laughed out loud in some parts. 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.' 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.
The story (such as it is) follows Orla who has come to London via Cheltenham to live with her best friend, Neema and the members of Neema's brother's band "Shiva". Orla has her own ambitions to write, sing and produce her own music but she finds out fast that there's no easy route to that happening.
Published May 2023, The Mess We're In is the second book from Sunday Times Bestselling author Annie Macmanus.
Very touching descriptions of lonely older generation Irish, both women and men who left Ireland and stayed in London.This book has left me a little befuddled. The writing is okay, the story is okay. Everything is okay but it's not great. 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
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