John the Revelator

A Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" selection for Fall 2009

Advance Praise for John the Revelator

"Full of things I can remember but can't imagine, a stunning debut novel."
-James Dean Bradfield, lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers

"The prose is a bag of fireworks, crackling with idiom and humour. Domestic, mythic, creepy, funny. Brilliant."
--Nick Laird, author of Utterly Monkey

"There's a novel which there's a lot of excitement about by Peter Murphy called John the Revelator. I've read it and it's an absolutely wonderful book, I mean it's a really wonderful book. And people say 'oh, you know, Irish fiction is stale, ' well things can change overnight, and books like Peter Murphy's can change things and be so fresh and so contemporary, so original and so disturbing and brave. I don't know what else is coming out of the blue like that, and that's the way it goes."
--Colm Toibin, The International Herald Tribune

"Everything about John the Revelator excited me--I couldn't wait to turn the page and keep on going. It was like reading for the first time, almost as if I'd never read a novel before."
--Roddy Doyle, author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

"Peter Murphy gives a great read, both wild and grounded. John the Revelator is the bastard of son of J.D. Salinger and Ted Hughes--ballsy, humorous, and brutally honest."
--Sabina Murray, author of The Caprices

"I also read a debut novel by an Irish writer, Peter Murphy, John the Revelator. An atmospheric tale of a young boy growing up in a small village whose life is altered by his friendship with a very free-spirited boy who he meets. It's an interesting debut, filled with humour and energy, and a certain sense of mystery. Best of all is the old crone, Mrs Nagle, who takes up residence in John's house whenever she sees an opportunity. Their face-offs are very funny and original."
--John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Mutiny on the Bounty

Praise from the UK

Murphy's impressive debut novel traces the childhood and young adolescence of John Devine. It is impressionistic rather than narrative-driven. It is part a traditional rite of passage novel and part hallucinogenic graphic nightmare horror. John the Revelator is the shout and answer refrain of the traditional blues song. . .It is also subtly comic. . .the author is to be admired for taking a well-used theme and giving it a great new twist . . . yet underneath the gothic, there is a gentle, tender novel. Peter Murphy's prose is extraordinarily good and each page is sheer pleasure to read."
--Neil Donnely, Irish Independent News

"John The Revelator is as assured a debut as I've read in years, and Murphy has created a cast of characters that will live long in the memory . . . This is a startling first novel, a remarkable statement of intent."
--John Meagher, the Irish Independent

"There is little to find fault with in this remarkably assured first attempt. Murphy, a music journalist from Wexford, has tapped something special with this insight into teenage psyche in a pocket of rural Ireland . . . This is a strikingly beautiful portrayal of mother and son . . . From the outset, Murphy shows a natural flair for narrative . . . Despite such confidetnly written prose, there is no evidence of arrogance . . . The style and attention to detail tally so well that it's easy to consume John the Revelator in one sitting . . . it is a hugely enjoyable work of fiction that announces Murphy as an Irish writer of substance."
---Sunday Times Ireland