Frogs for Watchdogs

Every so often a novel comes along that will take the reader's breath away . . . This novel teeters between profound sadness, near-paralysing anxiety and riotous comedy. It is, in my opinion, a masterpiece
A tremendous debut
Frogs for Watchdogs was garlanded with praise on its Irish publication last spring, and it's easy to see why. It is funny, evokes a child's vivid sense of place and ultimately is deeply touching . . . a novel whose crinkle-eyed charm is so hard to resist
Seán Farrell's impressive debut is a very special novel
I can't remember the last time I was so caught up in a book . . . a very special novel
An enthralling novel, and a remarkable imaginative feat - the narrative voice is wholly convincing, and utterly compelling. Seán Farrell is a magical writer, and his name is one to conjure with
A beautiful novel. I feel real love for it, and a bit emotional after reading it . . . Jerry Drain is one of the most beautifully rendered fictional characters I've come across in a long, long time. I think this is a stunning novel and I know it'll live long in my imagination. I'm so glad to have read it
Wise and precise, nuanced and frank, this fiction works on several levels at once, creating pleasure, intrigue and unease
A beautiful novel, painfully yearning, mysterious, and tender. I couldn't put it down
A joy . . . How difficult it is navigating the trappings and burdens of masculinity, whether it's the intensity of childhood or the pressures of young adulthood, yet Sean Farrell writes into this with intelligence, sensitivity and humour
A powerful and engaging debut, which does a remarkable job of recreating the peaks and troughs of childhood
It adds to the sense of care taken on Farrell's part to execute the most important element of a child narrative: balancing the gap between what the narrator knows and what the reader does. It's this, together with the charm in the voice, that makes the book succeed