Holding Her Breath
Description
"A joy to read. ... Emotional, clever, and humorous, Holding Her Breath will engross readers with its academic atmosphere and family drama." -- Booklist
A moving and "whip smart" (Sunday Telegraph) debut novel, following a former competitive swimmer and granddaughter of a famous Irish poet as she comes of age in the shadow of her family's tragic past, perfect for fans of Sally Rooney, Lily King's Writers & Lovers, and Elif Batuman's The Idiot.
Recommended by Glamour * The Millions * Literary Hub * PopSugar
When Beth Crowe starts university, she is haunted by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. With her Olympic dreams shattered after a breakdown, she is suddenly free to create a fresh identity for herself outside of swimming. Striking up a friendship with her English major roommate, Beth soon finds herself among a literary crowd of people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. Beth's mother and grandmother rarely talk about what happened to Benjamin, and Beth is unsettled to find that her classmates may know more about her own family history than she does.
As the year goes on, Beth embarks on a secret relationship with an older postdoctoral researcher--and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows.
Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving, and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition, and grief--and a young woman coming fully into her powers.
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About the Author
Eimear Ryan's writing has appeared in Granta, Winter Papers, The Dublin Review and The Stinging Fly. She is the 2021 Writer in Residence at University College Cork. She is a co-founder of the literary journal Banshee and its publishing imprint, Banshee Press. A native of Co. Tipperary, Eimear now lives in Cork city.
Reviews
"Explores love, desire, and the secrets of the past with the background of student life. And it does so deftly, with complex, but fully realised characters, and is so accomplished; so wonderfully written and thought through, that it's hard to imagine it's a debut at all. I absolutely loved it." --Irish Examiner
"Whip smart observations and addictive prose." --Sunday Telegraph
"Ryan's depiction of starting college, making friends and embarking on your first real romance is very assured, and she handles the familial and friendship dynamics very well. The mystery of the family narrative drives the plot, culminating in a satisfying ending. A refreshing, accomplished debut.--Irish Independent
"A delicious read ... a nimble account of student life with a darkly enjoyable undercurrent of secrecy and emotional turmoil.--Sara Baume, author of Spill Simmer Falter Wither
"From the first sentence to the last, this is a great piece of writing--precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read." --Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and Love
"Brilliant, vivid - I enjoyed this book ENORMOUSLY." --Marian Keyes, internationally bestselling author of Grown Ups
"Written with a wonderful clarity and insight, Holding Her Breath lingers in the imagination. Beth's unravelling and re-ravelling is drawn with great skill and empathy. A brilliant debut." --Donal Ryan, Booker Prize-nominated author of Strange Flowers
Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page. To read this book is to feel it blaze to life. I can't stop thinking about it.--Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of A Ghost in the Throat
A secret relationship, a family's tragic past, and a woman learning to be herself are all the makings of a great story, and I'm looking forward to reading this Irish writer's debut.--Literary Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2022
