{"product_id":"the-visit-brilliant-and-intriguing-colm-t-ib-n-9781804442005","title":"The Visit: 'Brilliant and intriguing' - Colm Tóibín","description":"\u003cp\u003eSet in June 1963, at the time of John F Kennedy's momentous visit to New Ross, against a backdrop of a country on the verge of profound social change and the magic that Kennedy's visit creates, \u003ci\u003eThe Visit\u003c\/i\u003e explores themes of shame and redemption, love and marriage, progress, and what happens to those that progress leaves behind. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eThe Visit\u003c\/i\u003e is an engrossing and tender portrait of a small town under pressure ... Stark and elemental - at the heart of the novel is a sort of quiet yearning and a longing for love and for completion that makes Neil Tully's novel so brilliant and intriguing' - Colm Tóibín\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The lad is a bit like a stray dog. I keep an eye on him and throw him a few scraps. There are plenty of people in this town who'd just as soon drop him off in the wilderness and hope there's no scent to follow home. The problem is that Patrick could find his way out of any wilderness and they wouldn't like whatever starved thing came back.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSergeant Jim Field feels a guilty paternalism for Patrick Hatten, a young man struggling to find a job, a life and a purpose in a small-town Wexford community. Both are used to being on the fringes but while Jim is a romantic with bad health and regret, Patrick is full of anger and action, and his actions could have devastating effects.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781804442005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 14 Jul 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Bonnier Books Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)x2.2(W)352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 352\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eNeil Tully lives in Cork. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Limerick. \u003ci\u003eThe Visit\u003c\/i\u003e is his first book.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e'What a delight it is to read such a wonderful story, written so beautifully. Spare, authentic, effortlessly lyrical, it is a stunning novel, the work of a writer of the first order' -- Donal Ryan\u003cbr\u003e'\u003ci\u003eThe Visit\u003c\/i\u003e is an engrossing and tender portrait of a small town under pressure ... Stark and elemental - at the heart of the novel is a sort of quiet yearning and a longing for love and for completion that makes Neil Tully's novel so brilliant and intriguing' -- Colm Tóibín\u003cbr\u003e'Once in a while, you read a novel so accomplished that you want to read the author's backlist but, to your surprise, it turns out to be a debut. That's how good Neil Tully's \u003ci\u003eThe Visit \u003c\/i\u003eis. Combining great storytelling with lyrical writing, this deserves to be on everyone's must-read list for 2026' -- John Boyne\u003cbr\u003e'Compassionate but clear-eyed, brimming with insight and emotional intelligence, this is a novel whose characters will linger with you long after you've closed the pages' -- Colin Walsh * author of Kala *\u003cbr\u003e'An exquisite and powerful debut novel from a compelling new voice in Irish fiction' -- Joseph O'Connor\u003cbr\u003e'An accomplished and atmospheric debut' * Irish Examiner *\u003cbr\u003e'Outstanding' -- Martin Doyle * The Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e'An amazing novel' -- Oliver Callan\u003cbr\u003e'An utterly absorbing and hugely readable novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Visit\u003c\/i\u003e is a story that captures a transitional time in Irish history so incredibly well, that at times I felt I was watching it up close. Field is a compelling protagonist, flawed, human and meticulously drawn. I was gripped from the start. The writing is so good' -- Elaine Feeney * author of How to Build a Boat *\u003cbr\u003e'A strong debut that showcases both the viciousness and salvation of community' -- Sheila Armstrong * author of Falling Animals *\u003cbr\u003e'Intrigue boils beneath the rural calm of this elegant novel; Neil Tully masterfully pulls the reader into a world where menace and the humdrum co-mingle uneasily. The prose is intelligent, gorgeous and empathic; the atmosphere subtly unsettling.\u003ci\u003e The Visit \u003c\/i\u003eis an accomplished, fully formed début' -- Nuala O'Connor * author of Seaborne and NORA *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'The Visit\u003c\/i\u003e makes an incision into 1960s New Ross as Ireland readies to welcome President Kennedy, and defiant Patrick Hatten toils under the weight of his family's past - and the town's judgment. A portrait of an Ireland still rooted in tradition, yet hopeful for change, \u003ci\u003eThe Visit \u003c\/i\u003eis an engrossing novel filled with rich prose, compassion and a tension that drives the narrative to the very last page' -- Charleen Hurtubise * author of The Polite Act of Drowning and Saoirse *\u003cbr\u003e'Neil Tully's tremendous first novel has been, for me, the surprise of the summer. \u003ci\u003eThe Visit\u003c\/i\u003e is a sheer delight, a considerable feat of the imagination, a proper story beautifully, delicately written and gripping from first page to last. Even in a country already popping at the seams with fine literature, this debut offering must be one of the year's standouts. It announces Neil as a writer of clearly considerable talent, and deserves to fly with critics and readers alike' -- Billy O'Callaghan * author of My Coney Island Baby *\u003cbr\u003e'Neil Tully is a deeply humane writer. There's great lyric beauty in \u003ci\u003eThe Visit\u003c\/i\u003e, but there's real ballast here as well' -- Seán Farrell * author of Frogs For Watchdogs *","brand":"Neil Tully","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48997123817689,"sku":"9781804442005","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781804442005.jpg?v=1784734442","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-visit-brilliant-and-intriguing-colm-t-ib-n-9781804442005","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}