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Debut novel from established short-story writer and poet about a 10-year-old girl who lives with her separated mother and two brothers. Set against the semi-urban backdrop of the River Liffey in 1980, the story unfolds through the narrator’s observations and interactions, and her naïve interpretations of adult conversations and behaviour. Heartbreaking at times, but also optimistic, humorous and enchanting.
Praise for Ni Chonchúir’s
‘Nude is a gorgeous collection. It’s sexy, intelligent, sensual, challenging and, even better, an addictive read. Highly recommended’ Jennifer Matthews, Southword.
‘The stories are composed of agile narrative voices, lively dialogue and…there is a confident, suggestive power that lingers’ Katie Donovan, The Irish Times.
Praise for Ni Chonchúir’s
‘Nude is a gorgeous collection. It’s sexy, intelligent, sensual, challenging and, even better, an addictive read. Highly recommended’ Jennifer Matthews, Southword.
‘The stories are composed of agile narrative voices, lively dialogue and…there is a confident, suggestive power that lingers’ Katie Donovan, The Irish Times.
157 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 24, 2010
3 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Nuala Ní Chonchúir
27 books42 followersAlso writes as Nuala O'Connor.
Ní Chonchúir studied at Trinity College Dublin, receiving a BA in Irish, and at Dublin City University, receiving a Masters in Translation Studies (Irish/English). She now lives in Galway.
Ní Chonchúir studied at Trinity College Dublin, receiving a BA in Irish, and at Dublin City University, receiving a Masters in Translation Studies (Irish/English). She now lives in Galway.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 13, 2016
Really good, quick read.
I wasn't expecting much from this one. I read it on kindle, and would never have chosen this book only that it was a GRI quarterly read.
Told from the perspective of a 10 year old girl, it is unusual in that the narrative is given from the second person POV. It is sad and funny. Reading it, I was reminded of how helpless children are in a world that is controlled by adults.
I wasn't expecting much from this one. I read it on kindle, and would never have chosen this book only that it was a GRI quarterly read.
Told from the perspective of a 10 year old girl, it is unusual in that the narrative is given from the second person POV. It is sad and funny. Reading it, I was reminded of how helpless children are in a world that is controlled by adults.
May 23, 2016
A really sad tale of a split families struggle with everyday life. Told through the eyes of a ten year old, it introduces a group of likeable characters living in Dublin. As the mother struggles to be both a single mom and juggle numerous questionable relationships, the daughter is left to deal with her two brothers.
An enjoyable enough read, I just didn't like the story being told in the second person. One other thing that bugged me throughout was that the 'baby' never had an actual name. A small gripe only, however I never felt there was anything amazing about the story, it's plot or the writing.
An enjoyable enough read, I just didn't like the story being told in the second person. One other thing that bugged me throughout was that the 'baby' never had an actual name. A small gripe only, however I never felt there was anything amazing about the story, it's plot or the writing.
February 27, 2015
A story of a troubled family in Dublin in the 1980s, narrated by the 10 year old daughter, entirely in the second person.
The thing that struck me most about this cleverly written feisty little girl was how she becomes almost forgotten by her mother who is immersed in her own terrible difficulties, and when she steps in to take on the mother’s role this effect is multiplied. Intuitively written,and very moving indeed
The thing that struck me most about this cleverly written feisty little girl was how she becomes almost forgotten by her mother who is immersed in her own terrible difficulties, and when she steps in to take on the mother’s role this effect is multiplied. Intuitively written,and very moving indeed
January 10, 2026
You is the life of a ten-year-old girl living on the banks of the Liffey in 1980, caught in that strange, dizzying in-between of childhood and something larger she can’t yet name. She lives with her mother, her brothers, and the fragile rhythm of a home touched by love but shadowed by absence and sorrow. Her father has another family, her mother battles depression and alcohol, and the world often seems confusing—but she carries on, in moments of sweetness, mischief, and quiet bravery.
Narrated in second person, Ní Chonchúir pulls you straight into her mind. Every small observation feels immediate: Kit, her mother’s boyfriend, is a nuisance; Claire, the stepsister, is a whiner; a haircut becomes transformative; lemonade can feel like magic; the heartbreak of a best friend moving to Wales is as real as the tension of a new baby on the way. The prose is deceptively simple, the chapters short, but each sentence hums with poignancy, humour, and a clarity that makes the ordinary extraordinary.
This is a novel of tiny heartbreaks and small kindnesses, of flawed, recognisably human characters trying their best in a messy world. It’s a story of resilience, of family love tangled with imperfection, and of those fleeting, electric moments when childhood brushes up against growing up: secret readings of Fear of Flying, Sindy dolls tucked away, the thrill of Eurovision, or counting blades of grass and wondering which would be worse, being hanged or missing out on a treat.
You is heartbreaking, tender, funny, and enchanting all at once a hymn to the fleeting magic of being ten, to the kindnesses we show, and to the quiet courage we sometimes need just to keep going. If Anna Fitzgerald’s Girl in the Making left its mark on you, this one deserves a place on your shelf.
Narrated in second person, Ní Chonchúir pulls you straight into her mind. Every small observation feels immediate: Kit, her mother’s boyfriend, is a nuisance; Claire, the stepsister, is a whiner; a haircut becomes transformative; lemonade can feel like magic; the heartbreak of a best friend moving to Wales is as real as the tension of a new baby on the way. The prose is deceptively simple, the chapters short, but each sentence hums with poignancy, humour, and a clarity that makes the ordinary extraordinary.
This is a novel of tiny heartbreaks and small kindnesses, of flawed, recognisably human characters trying their best in a messy world. It’s a story of resilience, of family love tangled with imperfection, and of those fleeting, electric moments when childhood brushes up against growing up: secret readings of Fear of Flying, Sindy dolls tucked away, the thrill of Eurovision, or counting blades of grass and wondering which would be worse, being hanged or missing out on a treat.
You is heartbreaking, tender, funny, and enchanting all at once a hymn to the fleeting magic of being ten, to the kindnesses we show, and to the quiet courage we sometimes need just to keep going. If Anna Fitzgerald’s Girl in the Making left its mark on you, this one deserves a place on your shelf.
February 11, 2019
At first glance the prospect of reading a novel written entirely in the second person and mostly in the present tense might prove daunting to many, but it is a testament to Nuala Ní Chonchúir’s skill as a writer that the story fairly clips along.
Told from the point of view of a ten year old girl growing up in 1980s Dublin, the use of the second person device pulls the reader into her world, where ‘you’ experience everything she does as she does, with an immediacy that is striking.
And this world includes a crumbling house by the river Liffey; an emotionally fragile mother struggling for a little happiness in her life while raising three children by two different fathers, both of whom are long gone; the mother’s friends and acquaintances, who are regularly depended on to mind the children; and the girl’s (your) two brothers, friends and enemies.
All these elements could well form the ingredients of your typical kitchen sink drama, but what brings the whole thing alive with a vivid tension is the perfectly captured voice of the girl (Also noteworthy is Ní Chonchúir’s light touch in bringing 1980s Dublin to life with skill and economy).
Through the girl, we see how her mother deals with the news that her estranged husband’s girlfriend is having a baby, we see her mother’s mood swings spurred on by a heavy dependence on alcohol, we see how her mother’s friends rally round to help however they can. And these concerns sit side by side with the sudden departure of the girl’s best friend to Wales and the prospect of a long summer with little to do and nobody to do it with.
It’s this voice that lends the events that unfold throughout the story, and in particular the tragedy that strikes the girl’s family and its consequences, a simple, understated poignancy that is at times heartrending.
Told from the point of view of a ten year old girl growing up in 1980s Dublin, the use of the second person device pulls the reader into her world, where ‘you’ experience everything she does as she does, with an immediacy that is striking.
And this world includes a crumbling house by the river Liffey; an emotionally fragile mother struggling for a little happiness in her life while raising three children by two different fathers, both of whom are long gone; the mother’s friends and acquaintances, who are regularly depended on to mind the children; and the girl’s (your) two brothers, friends and enemies.
All these elements could well form the ingredients of your typical kitchen sink drama, but what brings the whole thing alive with a vivid tension is the perfectly captured voice of the girl (Also noteworthy is Ní Chonchúir’s light touch in bringing 1980s Dublin to life with skill and economy).
Through the girl, we see how her mother deals with the news that her estranged husband’s girlfriend is having a baby, we see her mother’s mood swings spurred on by a heavy dependence on alcohol, we see how her mother’s friends rally round to help however they can. And these concerns sit side by side with the sudden departure of the girl’s best friend to Wales and the prospect of a long summer with little to do and nobody to do it with.
It’s this voice that lends the events that unfold throughout the story, and in particular the tragedy that strikes the girl’s family and its consequences, a simple, understated poignancy that is at times heartrending.
July 27, 2010
This is wonderful book. The story is moving and rings true. The language, style and pace are spot-on. Everything is done just right. Excellent.
November 12, 2022
A sad but intriguing story about a 10-year-old girl in Ireland. A tragedy occurs, with many foreboding signs. I got tired of the numerous references to snot! A little would be realism, but this was excessive. I wanted to send them a box of Kleenex and some Benadryl! The little girl calls herself, "You." We never do learn her name, which I thought was bizarre. I read this for a book challenge - I needed a 2nd person narrative.
April 5, 2022
This is a tender story told by a 10-year old girl. Her mother struggles with depression and her father's girl friend is expecting another baby. Told in second person, it's a sad story with sparks of joy in characters who step up and love this little family who bear the weight of heart ache and loss.
July 20, 2021
Kats postal book round 9
November 9, 2023
Postal book club choice round#9
June 16, 2023
Such a lovely story told in second person through the eyes of a ten year old child as she takes care of her little brother and baby for her mother who has periods of mental ill-health. The book is populated with a cast of flawed but well-meaning characters - all the more real for their flaws. There is tragedy, upset, arguement and love.
January 5, 2011
Nuala Ní Chonchúir’s debut novel, You, is set in 1980 Dublin against the charged backdrop of the River Liffey. The novel tells the turbulent story of a ten-year-old girl and her broken family. Narrated through the child’s point of view and told in the second person, this novel uses plain prose, vivid detail, fresh images, and the delightful Dublin vernacular. You is a compelling story that brings to life complex characters and delivers hard-hitting truths.
At the novel’s opening, the narrator’s single mother, Joan, attempts suicide and is admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Even after her discharge and return home, Joan remains depressed, abuses alcohol and, to varying degrees, neglects her three children. Joan also has a sinister love interest, Kit, and he and the novel’s plucky narrator often collide. Indeed one of my favorite scenes comes early in the novel when the narrator innocently walks in on Kit in the bathroom. Several terrible moments pass where Kit remains exposed and relishes, insists on, her seeing him. This moment reveals volumes about both Kit and the child and is expertly and economically handled by Ní Chonchúir.
Perhaps what I most admired and appreciated about this novel and Ni Chonchúir’s great skill set is the enormous restraint she employs, particularly around the novel’s central tragedy and her portrayal of the narrator’s mother, Joan. These characters are fully and compassionately drawn and cannot be easily judged or condemned. More, Ní Chonchúir deftly employs humor throughout and achieves great pathos in what is at times a deeply troubling tale. Issues of death, suicide, mental illness, neglect, abuse, alcoholism, and brokenness are central to this novel.
You brought back so many memories of my Dublin childhood in the 80’s, everything from something as small as the orange cellophane wrapping on Lucozade bottles to something as huge as visiting my mother in St. Brendan’s Psychiatric Hospital. I, too, grew up around water, the Royal Canal. That canal, just as the River Liffey here, left an indelible mark on my psyche. Much of the suffering, disappointment, and harrowing sense of abandonment in these pages also resonated. For my tastes, the novel perhaps ended on too neat a note. However, to Ní Chonchúir’s great credit, long after I turned the last page, I’m still thinking about this family. I worry for them, especially for the burdened, feisty, and sensitive child narrator. I also hope hard.
At the novel’s opening, the narrator’s single mother, Joan, attempts suicide and is admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Even after her discharge and return home, Joan remains depressed, abuses alcohol and, to varying degrees, neglects her three children. Joan also has a sinister love interest, Kit, and he and the novel’s plucky narrator often collide. Indeed one of my favorite scenes comes early in the novel when the narrator innocently walks in on Kit in the bathroom. Several terrible moments pass where Kit remains exposed and relishes, insists on, her seeing him. This moment reveals volumes about both Kit and the child and is expertly and economically handled by Ní Chonchúir.
Perhaps what I most admired and appreciated about this novel and Ni Chonchúir’s great skill set is the enormous restraint she employs, particularly around the novel’s central tragedy and her portrayal of the narrator’s mother, Joan. These characters are fully and compassionately drawn and cannot be easily judged or condemned. More, Ní Chonchúir deftly employs humor throughout and achieves great pathos in what is at times a deeply troubling tale. Issues of death, suicide, mental illness, neglect, abuse, alcoholism, and brokenness are central to this novel.
You brought back so many memories of my Dublin childhood in the 80’s, everything from something as small as the orange cellophane wrapping on Lucozade bottles to something as huge as visiting my mother in St. Brendan’s Psychiatric Hospital. I, too, grew up around water, the Royal Canal. That canal, just as the River Liffey here, left an indelible mark on my psyche. Much of the suffering, disappointment, and harrowing sense of abandonment in these pages also resonated. For my tastes, the novel perhaps ended on too neat a note. However, to Ní Chonchúir’s great credit, long after I turned the last page, I’m still thinking about this family. I worry for them, especially for the burdened, feisty, and sensitive child narrator. I also hope hard.
March 17, 2011
As mediocre as you'd expect from the synopsis. More mediocre than you might expect from an acclaimed poet and short story writer. Much like "Brooklyn" by Colm Toibin, it's just a new version of the same old story. ("Brooklyn" being country girl emigrates to big city, this one being poor child with unstable single mother tries to keep the family together and the younger siblings out of harm.) But if you like that sort of thing, it's OK.
August 11, 2014
This was an impulse buy and although I didn't regret reading it, I think the author did herself few favours by writing the whole book in the second person (hence the title presumably), in fact most of the time it drove me nuts. Aside from that I found it a quite compelling tale told through the eyes of a young girl growing up in Ireland in the 1980's with her fascinating, sometimes amusing and completely dysfunctional family.
April 3, 2013
Beautifully written, it is a wonderful portrayal of a troubled childhood which, somehow, changes for the better as the family comes to terms with death. The ending is a bit melodramatic and the blissful tone contrasts too much with the beginning of the story. It is worth reading, though. It is not difficult to see that her author is also a poet.
April 17, 2016
This story is entirely written in second person. As it was the first time for me I read a story in second person, it took me some time to get used to it. By then, I realized I really liked the characters depicted in this little gem.
It is about a ten year old girl, living in Dublin and what happened with her and her family during one particular summer. It has both drama and humour.
It is about a ten year old girl, living in Dublin and what happened with her and her family during one particular summer. It has both drama and humour.
June 23, 2016
The river flows through this story of a fractured Dublin family. Although for once the separated father plays a continuos role in the family. A young girl deals with looking after her mother and younger brothers, the characters are well written and engaging.
August 13, 2016
Loved this little book, funny and heartbreaking in equal amounts, can't wait to see Nuala's latest - House of Special Purpose...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews