Crowe's Requiem

By Mike McCormack

Book Overview

The first novel from the author of Booker-listed Solar Bones, Crowe's Requiem is a dark fable that cemented Mike McCormack's position as a stunning new voice in world literature.

McCormack's myth-tinged debut novel gives us the unforgettable Crowe and his endlessly curious and self-mythologizing stories. Crowe is born in the remote village of Furnace in the West of Ireland and raised by his grandfather, a man of "madness and bullying love," who teaches him grim lessons about existence. Entirely silent until his third birthday, Crowe becomes an observant and isolated teenager, eventually leaving Furnace for a large and bewildering city. There he meets a woman who will change his life and outlook, and also finds himself diagnosed with a rare and fatal aging disease. A profound, philosophical, and darkly funny meditation on childhood and the nature of life and death, Crowe's Requiem challenges us with the power of stories to capture the pains, wonders, and mysteries of being a person in a "wrong world."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 164129227X
• ISBN13: 9781641292276
• Release Date: April 2021
• Publisher: Soho Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Something to Crowe About

I bought this book two months ago in Ireland after hearing Mr. McCormack read. Even though I knew that the quality of writing would be remarkable from having heard passages from the novel, I avoided reading it because I thought it would be too dark, too depressing. When I finally succumbed, I was dumbstruck by the the richness of character, the sharply turned phrases, and fluid description throughout. It would have been a shame if the "macabre" on the fly leaf had scared me off before I gave it a chance.

Stumbling upon Brilliance

I happened to pick this book up randomly in Galway, Ireland. I didn't have high expectations from it, but as I read on I found myself hating the thought that I was coming closer and closer to the end each day. I finished it last night and I cried. This is a brilliant new writer and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. This might be my favorite new book.

I was hooked from page one.

I finished this book and then read it again. I thought it was brilliant! Mike McCormack is dead on with some of his insights into life, people, love, etc.

Crowe's Requiem is wonderful!

This book was very interesting. I loved how it kept me guessing at what would happen next; it was a definate page-turner. Crowe's character was very well developed and thoughtful. Even from his birth the reader knew he was gong to be a different person in one way or another

Thought provoking....

Purchased it in Ireland when it first came out and read it while there. If you don't mind a little darkness, it is a good read.