The Mess We’re In

by Annie Macmanus

I’m a Londoner now. I’m a voice in the noise. I’m ready.

It’s the turn of the millennium and, landing in London with nothing but her CD collection and demo tape, Orla Quinn moves into a squalid Kilburn house with her best mate and a band called Shiva.

Orla wants to make music, but juggling two jobs and partying every night isn’t helping. Back in Ireland her parents’ marriage has crumbled, she’s not speaking to her father, and her mother and sister are drinking too much.

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.

This is the story of a young woman thrashing through life, trying to find home in a strange new place. It’s also a story about music: how it can break you down and build you back up again, and how to find your rhythm when all you hear is noise.

Genres: Fiction, Irish Literature, Music, Coming Of Age, London, Ireland, Audiobook

376 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2023

Reviews

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This book has left me a little befuddled. The writing is okay, the story is okay. Everything is okay but it's not great.

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.

That's pretty much it. The state of relationships between band, girls, other bands, record labels and critics seem to be dictatedby the amount of drugs everybody's had. Orla seems intent on taking everything and sleeping with anyone much to Neema's displeasure. (At one point it felt like I was reading an edgier but far less enjoyable version of Marian Keyes' Rachel's Holiday.)

I don't mind a book that goes nowhere. In fact I'm quite fond of them but there is usually exquisite writing that is on display. Annie Macmanus seems still to be finding her voice as a novelist. Or maybe I'm just too old for this book.

There really is nothing wrong with this book but it simply didn't get under my skin enough.

[Connor Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!

Do you ever read something and instantly think this needs to be adapted into a series? Because that’s the case with The Mess We’re In!

After moving to Cheltneham via Dublin for uni, Orla is ready to take on the big smoke and moves in with an up and coming band, Shiva in Kilburn. (Or County Kilburn if you will 😂). Orla juggles trying to achieve a career within music for herself all while balancing two jobs and a headonistic lifestyle.

If you’ve ever moved away from home to follow your dreams I think this will resonate with you.

Music is at the core of this story and it’s woven in to every page so perfectly. Annie has done such a good job here at capturing the thrills of party life of the early 2000’s.

Orla makes a few poor and impulsive decision along the way, but hey didn’t we all in our early 20’s?

From someone that comes from similar split family background I found myself relating to a lot of Orla’s story and feelings from when I was that age. Especially her relationship with her parents and sister.

The dialogue in this feels so real, witty and funny that it feels like you’re reading a script from a BAFTA winning telly show.

This is another book that is set SO close to an area I use to live which made me enjoy the story just a little extra haha.

The Irish bar Fahy’s is such a focal location within this story and I loved it! It sounded like great craic and if it was real I’d be there ordering a pint in a heartbeat.

I’m now rushing to read Annie’s debut next 😂

Basically for fans of Sally Rooney, Naoise Dolan and Claire Keegan you will LOVE this.

Side note: I’ve been so excited to check out Annie’s novels. She hosted the first ever industry talk I ever went too when I was in college and figuring out if I really wanted to peruse a career in radio and her chat with Charlie Sloth convinced me that this was a career for me. I’ve also been a fan of her radio and podcast work for ages!

[Derval Tannam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I zipped through this book over a quiet weekend, and it was pretty entertaining. I wanted more though- more emotion, more of the important relationships between sisters and friends. I didn't find the change in Neema believable; from making her pal chai tea after a night out to refusing to meet her eye. I wanted more of a story, but I certainly enjoyed what story was there. I'm looking forward to reading MacManus' first book!

[alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75 ⭐️ set in the early 2000s, we meet the twenty-one year old orla quinn. she’s moving from ireland to london, to live together with her best mate neema and neema’s brother his band, shiva.

this book is messy, like messy rockstar/music industry. i loved that. orla navigates through her shitty life by using drugs, making music and trying to keep her friendships stable.

at first i did have a hard time with getting into this book, mainly because annie macmanus doesn’t use quotation marks. eventually the story started to pick up and i could see through the missing of these marks.

i felt like this was a good, realistic portrayal of trying to make it in the music industry and living a rockstar life. i did miss a few things that would’ve made the book more special for me. more depth in orla’s relationship with her bestfriend, maybe a bit of background information about orla her parents. i would’ve loved to see more of orla and her sister anna together.

overall, this was an enjoyable literary fiction! if you’re into messy lives and music, this is definitely for you.

[Jo Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forgot to add this when I actually read it and I now can’t remember what I thought of it, so the 3 🌟 is a guesstimate.

[Lorna Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This audiobook started promising. And I appreciated the numerous musical references throughout. That being said the characterisation fell flat and I couldn't much empathize with the book's protagonist. Plus the ending was so abrupt I had to rewind to check it had actually finished. It felt rushed.

[Sarah O’Hagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn’t say there’s much to the story, but as I kept reading it just hit home at bit too much being an Irish girl in England
Didn’t enjoy the start much but as I kept reading I just fell in love with orla and would love to read more about her

[malena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought of giving this 3 stars, but the last quarter of the book pushed the fourth star. I enjoyed reading this. It does sort of lack plot, but not in a way that makes the book seem badly-crafted, just in the way that life sometimes also lacks plot. It was very realistic in that sense, I didn’t mind some strings leading nowhere or fading out, it felt authentic. Only thing I couldn’t full get into was the portrayal of the interpersonal relationships. I always felt like I had missed something, the characters speaking so familiarly to one another. Quite fitting with the rest of the book, but still complicating forming my own bonds or building likings. Nonetheless fun, fresh and honest!

[Kate Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really did not enjoy this book.
I found Macmanus writing to be really 'bitty' - short and snappy, but without any real substance or emotion. The setting and atmosphere was written well, but when it comes to relationships and characters I just didn't feel anything.
Just couldn't connect to this one. Didn't see the point in the book, didn't get anything from it.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was a bit meh. Just a load of people living in a grotty house doing a load of drugs. The story didn’t really go anywhere and the last few pages bored me. Also the lack of speech marks made it hard to read. I just don’t get on well with books that have no speech marks! Maybe stick to the DJ’ing Annie!

[orla ᵕ̈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don’t have any particularly strong feelings about this book. the writing was plain and okay. the plot was okay. i didn’t really like the characters. but i still enjoyed it for the most part. if you’re a big music fan and love music production you would probably enjoy this

[Charlotte Goulding · Rating 2 out of 5]

The irritating way of writing dialogue just put me off. Using a different symbol added nothing. If your writing is good enough you don’t need ?quirky? styles.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want my four hours back

[Tilly Norster · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much drugs. But otherwise good. I think my lack of interest in music tainted the book

[Mairead Hearne (swirlandthread.com) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Rating ~ 4.5

The Mess We’re In by Annie Macmanus published May 11th with Wildfire and is described by Sara Cox as ‘beautifully painted, well set up and realistic’.

Set in Kilburn, The Mess We’re In is the story of a young Irish woman, Orla Quinn, as she embarks on her London odyssey with hope and expectation. Orla moves into a room in a house-share with her friend Neema and Neema’s brother, who is part of a band called Shiva. All the other band-mates live in the house also. Neema is a law student with a clear career path ahead of her, with Orla’s sights set on the music industry. Orla writes music, plays guitar and has studied music production. She understands the music but she has no direct experience of the music industry. Living with a band has possibilities for Orla but she needs to bide her time and put in some hard and dirty work.

She picks up a job in an Irish bar, where she witnesses first hand the different generations of Irish who left their homes never to return. There is a melancholic atmosphere running through these scenes, a lingering sadness for unfulfilled dreams and paths never explored. The characters are all beautifully depicted with an authenticity that really adds depth to the story.

Orla lives a wild life. It’s the early 2000s and she spends most of her time lost in a fog of drink and drugs, partying and playing hard. Orla’s passion for music came from her Dad but with her Dad after leaving her mother for another woman, Orla is devastated. She refuses to talk to him, refuses to acknowledge his new life. To Orla’s eyes he has broken up the family and doesn’t deserve her respect. She becomes very centred on her own circumstances, wallowing in self-pity to the point of disregarding her relationships. Neema is her best friend but it’s clear that even Neema is challenged by some of Orla’s path toward self-destruction.

Annie Macmanus brings the sights, smells and sounds of this era very much to life. I didn’t personally have ‘The London Experience’ but have heard stories from those who did. There’s almost a sense of ‘what stays on tour…’ when you hear folk recount their experiences. I expect to really feel it, you have to live it. The dank conditions of the accommodation, the disenchantment, ambitions thwarted were a common thread across many stories of expats who left Irish shores with hopes of a more exciting and a better life. For many these dreams were very quickly dashed, with many losing their way down a pint glass with a whiskey or two for company. In Orla Quinn’s case, she found herself on a very precarious ledge, living a blurred existence caught up in a spiral of coke, pills and the thrum of the music.

From the beginning Orla embraces this new and hectic life. She quickly immerses herself in its daily rhythms, excited at what lies ahead for her. Every small step forward is another notch on her goal to independence

“I try to stop grinning, to fix my face to look more casual at this scene – this pub in Camden, this band that I live with now – as if this is just a typical evening for me instead of the first night out of the rest of my life. Then the barman catches my eye. I lean forwards. I am a Londoner now. I’m a voice in the noise. I’m ready”

As someone who grew up surrounded by music and, with a brother who was steeped in the local band scene, I loved the attention to detail with all its rawness and grit. Annie Macmanus breathes life into all her characters placing the reader right in the middle of the, at times, almost anarchic life of Orla Quinn. This is a book full of passion and life, a book that beats to its own drum, an exhilarating reading experience. Annie Macmanus knows the music industry well, adding a real authentic and trusted layer to this tale.

The Mess We’re In is the story of a young woman looking for her place in the world. It is a loud, throbbing, non-apologetic, immersive and unyielding story, a novel packed with nostalgia for the chaos of those insane years of our twenties. (although probably not quite that insane!!)

[James Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED!! It’s another one of those books where nothing really happens yet it feels like a lot does, a personal favourite. Following Shiva, Orla and Neema’s travels through London was genuinely very fun to do and seeing Orla change throughout was cool!!

[Gem ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I perhaps need a bit more time to digest this book and all that it made me feel. The things I really loved was the authenticity of life as a 20-something just out of college in the year 2001, I was just a year younger than the character at this time and it made me reminisce so much about the music/gig scene and political feelings of the time. Although Orla is nothing like me, I felt I understood where she was coming from and in particular her relationships with her family. The correlation with Orla's Da and what I also experienced in my mid-20s was very well written and I felt all the emotions in my core. Annie McManus writes beautifully with such description and I truly enjoyed absorbing every word lyrically.
I just felt a little weighed down by all of the drug-taking which felt equally bleak and monotonous and I was just expecting something more from the storyline with the band- just more conflict or drama, though I figure this kind of "uneventful everyday events" was the aim of the book, which I respect I just personally wanted... more.

[TCOR · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not loooove how this was written & found it a lil cringe

for a book thts so centred on music I felt like it could have been less repetitively described where music was actually present in the narrative (instead of loosely comparing random situations to random songs from the era lol)

And also most of it was samey party scenes recounting convos between the interesting ish main characters and miscellaneous douchebag guys in the pub, which got old quickly

HOWEVER extra star for being set in kilburn and starring crazy trad characters/talking about life for the Irish people who arrived here in the 60s/70s/80s. havent come across any other books that talk about this suuuper specific intergenerational dynamic between Irish ppl in london and would love to find more if they exist rn. also has to be said that the lil transcripts of the main character’s calls home were v sweet!

[Cave Empter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sliciest of lives, this fairly mundane story is carried by some strong characterisation and a bit of music career wish-fulfilment. Not always a comfortable ride but often comforting. Macmanus has produced a rather well-balanced mix of familial, friendship, and artistic struggles, and stuck the reader with a relateable half-disaster of a main character, all the while making the early noughties feel very far away.

[Vix S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale that felt so authentic it could only have been written by someone who lived it themselves (or knew someone who did). Annie Mac is, to me, one of the most legit voices in music and I was gutted when she left Radio 1. It was good to hear her again, albeit via the written word this time.

[sinead ganly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a book where nothing much happens. I love how these characters and their actions make you feel like you know them because you relate them into your own life. I was rooting for all these characters, it’s so nice for a change when one likes all the main characters!

[Hannah Bayman · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFing at 35 pages in because not a single sentence has interested me so far and all the characters seem bland, not to mention they’ve all been introduced with absolutely no reference to how the main character came to know them??

[Helen Macklon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and time travelling to London, 2001 and hearing all of the music and messiness of being in your early 20s. This book totally captures that lifestyle- great read.

[Sarah Ford · Rating 1 out of 5]

No plot!!!

[Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Retrata muito bem a Londres dos excessos - drogas, sexo, álcool. A maneira como os três formam parte da identidade e das expectativas impostas, de como são moeda de troca ou uma escapatória duma cidade que não perdoa. É uma também um livro que explora a musicalidade da cidade e a dificuldade das personagens singrarem na indústria musical, que as acaba por regurgitar, levando-os a mais excessos. A realidade acaba sempre por custar mais. A cultura das saídas está também muito bem retratada, a dos pubs e da integração de grupos que eram marginalizados, e de outros que eram e ainda são. As relações na cidade, e quão frias as pessoas são, são bem exploradas - sobretudo do ângulo de toda a gente ter uma utilidade e é aí que uma pessoa começa e acaba, como ser humano. Foi interessante ver também a comparação de algumas cenas passadas na cidade, aos olhos da Orla, e o quão semelhantes, em certos aspectos, aos momentos em que ela consome drogas. Acho que é um livro que em parte pede uma vivência de Londres e ajuda que isto se passe perto da minha zona. Revi-me em muita coisa e captura alguma da magia de Londres também, mesmo com toda patina e excesso.

[Fleury · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I'd known this was a non-punctuation book I wouldn't have started it.

I think that should be (hinted) in the blurb - the non-punctuation.

The only thing I liked about this book was the numerous musical references.

I thought the characters were very flat. I felt that there was no substance to the book, and maybe the zero plot was intentional by the author.

It's a book about the huge use of drugs, loads of people in a house having extreme use of drugs.
Every drug, from weed, to pot to MDMA - Ecstasy etc .

Overall - quite a disappointing book - not think I'll endure another book by Annie Macmanus.

More than enough already.

I made myself complete it because I just can't do DNF - I'd always prefer to complete a boring book than not complete it.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sped through the last 200 pages today bc nothing really happens and it’s just vibey. But the vibes are good. I’ve been dying to read this forever bc this is like the exact kind of book I like and they only seem to publish them in the UK/Ireland and Australia so I had to buy it in Ireland. It was enjoyable and sweet and cinematic. Annie Mac also made one of the best songs ever that evokes the sexy sweaty running around town warm summer day https://open.spotify.com/track/4OSS2e...

[Noëlle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this would only be one of these books i read to get them off my TBR-pile, almost put it away after the first 70 pages. Then, I realized suddenly just how painfully relatable i found everything. Moving far away from home to a city you dont know as a twenty something who just wants to sing, leaving behind a family that feels broken, everything being messy as fuck but finding peace in getting lost in it??? Bro.
It all did something to me. Literally dont know how else to describe it but im so glad i kept on reading

[stephanie]

annie mac i love you maar dit boek was niet om doorheen te komen. het voelde echt alsof ik HELE slechte fanfiction las waarin mensen van kleur goed bedoeld maar heel ignorant en stereotypisch worden opgeschreven, het plot sloeg nergens op tot dusver (en volgens andere reviews blijft het ook zo) en de protagonist trok het bloed onder mijn nagels vandaan terwijl de side characters 0 persoonlijkheid hadden. het is heel erg “tell don’t show”. daarom maar gestopt :(

[Katherine Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book to add to my Irish moving to London series. Beautiful glimpse into the life of a young Irish woman, sad, chaotic and fun. Nothing really happens and it’s not hard hitting with emotions but it’s my favourite kind of escapism - relatable but also not at all.

Fantastic music references throughout - reminding me of songs I haven’t heard of in years