What do you think?
Rate this book
The Living
Recently graduated and nursing a wounded heart, Cate Houlihan is quickly learning about the realities of adult life - shaky career paths, broken relationships and overbearing parents. Determined not to repeat past mistakes, she throws herself into choir practice and her new job as an editorial assistant in a small and eccentric Dublin publishing house. When romance blossoms with the choir's newest member, Matthew Taylor, it seems as if things might be starting to go her way. So when her work brings her into contact with the recent Republican past, she dismisses as paranoia her sense that she is being followed - until she comes home one evening to find someone has been in her flat and they haven't stolen a thing.
288 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2014
64 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 23, 2014
What do I know about choirs and Irish politics? Not much. Would I enjoy a novel focusing on these? I had my doubts. Yet, I devoured this book. I love Lean's writing style and the way she layered past and present, mundane and complex. A feast.
August 6, 2014
The basic story is simple, mundane even. Cate Houlihan is a couple of years out from finishing university. After temping a bit she gets a job with a small publisher, partly because her new boss knows her uncle, though she does not know anything about the nature of that relationship. She also sings in a choir. A new tenor joins the choir and they hit it off. There are the usual concerns about what this relationship might be, and how serious. She is surprised to find that she is actually enjoying her job and the things she is learning to do. A few interesting plot twists related to the setting and period along with masterful storytelling make the novel increasingly difficult to put down. Lean Cullinan captures the naiveté of a character like Cate quite well along with the unsettling nature of this transitional life stage.
I know the author and picked this up on the strength of that personal connection. Despite the bias that might induce, I can wholeheartedly recommend this novel. It is extremely well written, an engaging story, with interesting characters. I sincerely hope she continues writing for many years.
I know the author and picked this up on the strength of that personal connection. Despite the bias that might induce, I can wholeheartedly recommend this novel. It is extremely well written, an engaging story, with interesting characters. I sincerely hope she continues writing for many years.
August 6, 2014
Probably more 3.5 stars than 3 but not quite a 4 star read.
The story is fairly predictable, not badly done and the pacing is a little off for me it occasionally felt a little rushed and then afterwards felt a little too slow. I didn't feel I really got to know the characters in any concrete way but on the other hand I flew through the read, so it did keep my attention as I was reading through.
Cate Houlihan has recently graduated from Trinity and has drifted into a job in publishing. Not what she planned for her life, but she really doesn't have an anchor or plan and this was an opportunity that offered her a chance to strike out for a life of her own. Home life is comforting but a shackle, something that she could slip into but she wants to try for something else in her life. She's in a choir, she has a job, she has a home, because of her uncle. When Matthew Taylor comes into her life she finds herself interested, having to get over the fact that he's English and her family have republican ties makes the relationship a bit fraught. When he shows interest in a book being edited by her live, love and all sorts of messes become entwined and Cate finds out that some secrets will come out no matter how much the holders try to bury them.
Interesting, quite readable and I found it satisfying.
In the interests of full disclosure, I know the author, this didn't colour my review. The petty review by John Boyne in the Irish Times pushed this one up my shelf and didn't reflect my experience of the book.
The story is fairly predictable, not badly done and the pacing is a little off for me it occasionally felt a little rushed and then afterwards felt a little too slow. I didn't feel I really got to know the characters in any concrete way but on the other hand I flew through the read, so it did keep my attention as I was reading through.
Cate Houlihan has recently graduated from Trinity and has drifted into a job in publishing. Not what she planned for her life, but she really doesn't have an anchor or plan and this was an opportunity that offered her a chance to strike out for a life of her own. Home life is comforting but a shackle, something that she could slip into but she wants to try for something else in her life. She's in a choir, she has a job, she has a home, because of her uncle. When Matthew Taylor comes into her life she finds herself interested, having to get over the fact that he's English and her family have republican ties makes the relationship a bit fraught. When he shows interest in a book being edited by her live, love and all sorts of messes become entwined and Cate finds out that some secrets will come out no matter how much the holders try to bury them.
Interesting, quite readable and I found it satisfying.
In the interests of full disclosure, I know the author, this didn't colour my review. The petty review by John Boyne in the Irish Times pushed this one up my shelf and didn't reflect my experience of the book.
February 22, 2015
Read in one long snowy day and evening. The uneasy Irish peace is ten years old, and a young woman is beginning her career, but is drawn unwittingly into political intrigue. It's a love story with political overtones. Cullinan is a skilled and compelling author.
May 1, 2014
A really powerful debut novel, examining how lies, evasions, and past events complicate life in the present, lying in wait to betray the unwary - or the naive.
Cate's life is finally working out. Working for Bell Books, a small Dublin publisher based in Rathmines, she's found a job she enjoys; living independently of her family has freed her from the undercurrent of tension at home; and a handsome, English tenor called Matthew has just joined the choir...
But things are more tangled than they seem; when she is handed a package to give to her boss, things start to get hairy... What exactly is Bell Books new title about? Why is Matthew so interested in it? And is her sense that she's being followed and spied on paranoia, or real?
A literary thriller, though one more interested in atmosphere and the psychology of deceit than in convoluted twists and turns. I loved it.
Cate's life is finally working out. Working for Bell Books, a small Dublin publisher based in Rathmines, she's found a job she enjoys; living independently of her family has freed her from the undercurrent of tension at home; and a handsome, English tenor called Matthew has just joined the choir...
But things are more tangled than they seem; when she is handed a package to give to her boss, things start to get hairy... What exactly is Bell Books new title about? Why is Matthew so interested in it? And is her sense that she's being followed and spied on paranoia, or real?
A literary thriller, though one more interested in atmosphere and the psychology of deceit than in convoluted twists and turns. I loved it.
August 3, 2014
I really enjoyed this novel and read it in one setting. It is a great read as well as being a good character study of the protagonist who falls in love with a fellow choir member. Her family are all caught well and the choir practices are really believable, as is the world of small publishing. It is set in modern times, but says something important about our troubled past in Ireland. I recommend it to all and have given it 4 stars. I would give it 5, except that is probably for the classics. I'm looking forward to this writer's next book.
MRC
MRC
September 6, 2016
This rating reflects my appreciation of the author's use of an authentic-seeming Irish voice. I enjoyed the manner of speaking used by the characters very much.
This is a good story, charming even but not complicated. The characters are interesting but not revealed in depth. Perhaps there will be a follow-up to explore the relationship that developed here.
I would recommend this book particularly to those folks who love the Irish manner and way of speaking.
It is not for anyone seeking suspense and plot twists.
This is a good story, charming even but not complicated. The characters are interesting but not revealed in depth. Perhaps there will be a follow-up to explore the relationship that developed here.
I would recommend this book particularly to those folks who love the Irish manner and way of speaking.
It is not for anyone seeking suspense and plot twists.
December 11, 2018
This mostly low-key thriller caught my eye because it takes place in today's peaceful Ireland where the country's past gets dredged up through an unlikely employee of a book publisher. You can read my revised review here https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2014/10/0...
October 31, 2014
This was in between a 3 and 4 star for me, but I really enjoyed reading it, so went with a 4 star rating :) I felt like the story couldn't quite decide what genre to be, and Cate, the main character, was a bit too given to introspective monologues, but it was a speedy read with a good sense of time and place.
May 5, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a very clear realistic no nonsence book that has a great plot and resolution. It's a debut novel from a young Irish author that promisses a lot of good books in the future. The book is a real page-turner and I recommend it to everybody.
October 16, 2016
Really enjoyed this story about an Irish girl finding out slowly and painfully that her family's history has repercussions.
August 28, 2025
This features a young woman called Cate who somehow allows a man to call her Cattle. Nobody should allow that. Loses a star right away. A choir is involved, but it's not a musical story. That's just the vehicle for a story about the peace process, subversives and those who sympathise. I'm wondering if the author could not think of anything sunnier to write about, given that she would probably like to show a good side of modern Ireland. We move from Dublin and Swords to Belfast, but it's not very scenic.
A star for being set in Ireland. I did not take to the characters, but others may enjoy the story more than I did.
A star for being set in Ireland. I did not take to the characters, but others may enjoy the story more than I did.
July 1, 2017
Just a bit tame and predictable
June 29, 2019
Rather predictable and didnt really develop the theme around the Irish republic. Overall, rather disappointing
July 16, 2022
One of the best books I've ever read, the writer seems cool as well and bet she loves Teslas.
January 27, 2015
This book is smart and beautiful, and I enjoyed it all the way through.
It's about a young woman in Dublin, and her life. And she's smart and funny.
This book follows her life, as she's becoming a grown-up, and discovers more about herself, and the past, and what it's like to be followed by suspicious people.
It's about a young woman in Dublin, and her life. And she's smart and funny.
This book follows her life, as she's becoming a grown-up, and discovers more about herself, and the past, and what it's like to be followed by suspicious people.
November 24, 2014
Disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews