A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing
Author Eimear McBride
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Published
Media type Print
Pages 227
Awards
ISBN 1566893682

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing is the debut novel of Eimear McBride.

Content and style

This stream of consciousness novel explores an Irish girl's relationship with her disabled brother, religious mother, and her own troubled sexuality.

Joshua Cohen described how McBride's experimental style "forgoes quotation marks and elides verbiage for sense, sound and sheer appearance on the page. For emphasis it occasionally wreaks havoc on capItalS and reverses letter order."[1]

Genesis and publication

McBride began writing her debut novel whilst working in a series of office temp jobs. It took nine years to find a publisher and was rejected by numerous companies. The book was eventually first published in 2013, with an initial print run of 1000 copies, by Galley Beggar Press of Norwich, England.[2] Mr Layte, of Galley Beggar Press recalled that the unusual writing-style led him to take up the novel where others had overlooked it:

I thought this was one of the most important books I had ever read. It had the same effect on me as when I first read Samuel Beckett. It was a game-changer as far as what could be done.[3]

In 2014, rights for a trade paperback were sold to publishers Faber and Faber.[4]

Reviews and prizes

In a New York Times review, Joshua Cohen described the book as being "in all respects, a heresy — which is to say, Lord above, it’s a future classic."[1] Reviewing the novel for The Guardian, Anne Enright wrote that it "is hard to read for the best reasons: everything about it is intense and difficult and hard-won."[5]

The novel won several awards including the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year,[6] the Goldsmiths Prize,[2] the Desmond Elliott Prize,[7] the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction,[8] and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize.[9]

The Guardian Book Club featured the novel in 2016, and the BBC Radio 4 Book Club will feature the novel in early 2018.[10][11]

Adaptations

In 2014, the novel was adapted for the stage by Annie Ryan. Initially appearing at the Corn Exchange, Dublin, the production later appeared at the Young Vic in London, the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York.[12][13][14]

The audiobook of the novel, read by the author, was released in 2014.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 Cohen, Joshua (2014-09-19). "'A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing,' by Eimear McBride". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  2. 1 2 Maughan, Philip (13 November 2013). "Goldsmiths Prize awarded to debut novelist Eimear McBride for A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing". New Statesman. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Clark, Nick (2014-07-06). "Galley Beggar and Eimear McBride: The publisher that took a chance on". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  4. ↑ "A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing". Faber and Faber. Faber and Faber. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Enright, Anne (2013-09-20). "A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  6. ↑ Doyle, Martin (28 May 2014). "Eimear McBride wins €15,000 Kerry Group Irish novel of the year award". Irish Times. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "The 2014 Prize". The Desmond Elliott Prize. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Tim Masters (4 June 2014). "Eimear McBride wins Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction". BBC. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Beth Webb (November 21, 2014). "Eimear McBride wins the 2013 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize". The Daily Telegraph.
  10. ↑ "Book Club with Eimear McBride | The Guardian Members". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Bookclub - BBC Radio 4". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  12. ↑ "A Girl is a Half Formed Thing". Dublin Theatre Festival. 2014.
  13. ↑ "A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing, review: Majestic and mesmerising". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  14. ↑ Brantley, Ben (2016-04-22). "Review: 'A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing' Is a Ghostly Play". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  15. ↑ Collard, David. "Girl, interpreted". The TLS blog. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
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