Big Girl Small Town by Michelle Gallen

★★★★☆

Warning: if you read this book you are almost certainly going to want, nay NEED to eat a bag of salty, vinegary chips! You have been warned!

Majella, an autistic woman from Northern Ireland lives with her alcoholic (and abusive) mother and works at the local fish and chips shop. Spanning the week after the murder of her grandmother, we read in minute detail Majella’s mundane and monotonous life. The writing is broken up with timestamps and items from Majella’s list of things she likes and the much longer list of things she doesn’t.

This is very clearly Majella's story and we the reader are privileged to understand her life in intimate detail. Despite living in ceasefire, Majella's life is built on the consequences of The Troubles. Tensions are underlying and ever-present , particularly in Majella's family. Her uncle was killed when making a bomb for the IRA and her father unexpectedly disappeared with no trace of him found since.

Upon first reading, many members of Brunch Book Club felt underwhelmed but when we began to unpack the novel and pick up on the subtleties of life post-war the book took on a new and more complex meaning. The book is deeply Irish in its structure, language and dialogue, and some Brunch Book Clubbers struggled to sink into the rhythm of the words. Luckily there’s a handy Book Club Kit available online.

All in all, this is a fantastic book that explores the people who are usually reduced to a footnote or a short sentence in many histories of The Troubles. Michelle Gallen wrote 'I felt compelled to explore the festering wound of the border and the lasting impact of the Troubles in a manuscript that eventually became Big Girl, Small Town.' And what an exploration it is.