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Rituals
Joan, a public servant in her fifties, is in the habit of living alone and navigating her days through ordinary and obsessive rituals. When an unexpected career break prompts her to take in a young university student as a lodger, her carefully ordered system is challenged. Set in Cork city, the novel explores the power of daily habits and the bravery required to open one's heart to change.
168 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 11, 2026
Despite its short length, this is a book of layers and complexity, portraying a new stage of life for a middle-aged woman who has recently started a career break. Her compulsive habits and thought patterns influence how she navigates her new existence, starting by finding a lodger to help off-set the financial reality of not having a steady paycheck.
The book is peppered with social commentary throughout, mostly fairly surface-level, but some of the observations ring true and will elicit a hearty chuckle from any person with a sense of humor.
The heart of the story revolves around two flawed people with different struggles trying to navigate their daily lives, and through the lens of Joan's nervous mind, a journey that could hardly be called more than mundane for a normal person (if they exist), becomes an adventure of near legendary proportions. In a sense, it reads like a good buddy cop film, but shootouts and standoffs are replaced with runins with troublesome neighbors, friends, pets, family, and societal expectations.
I bought and read this book on my trip to Ireland after reading some early Joyce, so the easy flow of the sentences and light prose with which the writer communicates her ideas was a joy to read. I even caught the odd geographical reference to Cork, though I didn't explore the city as much as I would've liked. All this to say, I may be slightly biased in giving this book 5 stars, but any book that leaves you with a sense of doubtful, nuanced hope in humanity is worth reading during these times.
The book is peppered with social commentary throughout, mostly fairly surface-level, but some of the observations ring true and will elicit a hearty chuckle from any person with a sense of humor.
The heart of the story revolves around two flawed people with different struggles trying to navigate their daily lives, and through the lens of Joan's nervous mind, a journey that could hardly be called more than mundane for a normal person (if they exist), becomes an adventure of near legendary proportions. In a sense, it reads like a good buddy cop film, but shootouts and standoffs are replaced with runins with troublesome neighbors, friends, pets, family, and societal expectations.
I bought and read this book on my trip to Ireland after reading some early Joyce, so the easy flow of the sentences and light prose with which the writer communicates her ideas was a joy to read. I even caught the odd geographical reference to Cork, though I didn't explore the city as much as I would've liked. All this to say, I may be slightly biased in giving this book 5 stars, but any book that leaves you with a sense of doubtful, nuanced hope in humanity is worth reading during these times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2026
Joan is brilliant.
May 22, 2026
So engaging and an amazing Cork author!!!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews