Book Launch: Youth by Kevin Curran

The Lilliput Press invites you to the book launch of Youth by Kevin Curran

6pm Thursday 8 June 2023

at Hodges Figgis, 56-58 Dawson St, Dublin 2, D02 XE81

YOUTH dives into the lives of four teenagers in Ireland’s most diverse town, Balbriggan. Angel is about to finish school and discover if Drill music and his YouTube fame can deliver on their promises. Princess is battling to escape her claustrophobic surroundings and go to university. Dean is ready to come out from under his famous father’s shadow. Tanya, struggling with the spotlight of internet infamy, is still posting her dream life for all of her faithful followers.

Isolated and disorientated by the white noise and insurmountable expectations of adolescence, our protagonists are desperate to find anything that helps them belong. Oblivious to each other’s presence, potential and struggles, they pass on the street as strangers. But when they do intersect, the connections they make will change the course of their lives.

Twenty-first century life – hyper-sexualized, social media saturated, anxiety-plagued – is here. Living inside its characters’ heads, and negotiating their interior landscapes, this book is a love song to the possibilities of youth.

Curran’s evocative writing yields the authenticity this novel demands. An instinctive affection and admiration for the characters portrayed in Youth takes the reader on a journey through streets less travelled.

KEVIN CURRAN is from Balbriggan, County Dublin, and has been a secondary school teacher in his hometown for over a decade. His first novel, Beatsploitation, appeared in 2013 bringing him national attention due to his depiction of Ireland’s new multicultural landscape. A second novel, Citizens, earned critical acclaim in 2016. His short stories have been published in major anthologies and literary journals such as The Stinging Fly, and he has also written non-fiction for the Guardian and The Observer.

Publishing 8 June 2023 in paperback and audiobook. Audiobook voiced by: Gabriel Adewusi, Jordanne Jones, Florence Adebambo, Conall Keating and Kate Gilmore.

PRAISE FOR YOUTH

‘Cocky, funny, complex, vulnerable – the kids in Youth deserve to be treated with seriousness, compassion and focus. And that is exactly what Curran does with such energy and confidence in this vibrant, important novel.’ WENDY ERSKINE

‘A vivid and memorable portrait of a new emerging city from a gifted and committed writer.’ KEVIN BARRY

‘Youth is current. It’s Here and Now! You feel the language of Youth in your very pulse.’ MELATU UCHE OKORIE

‘Curran animates the precise, minute-to-minute oscillation between triumph and catastrophe that is adolescence. All the embarrassments, missteps, bluffs, and vulnerabilities of youth are here. And all the yearning too. He captures the voices of a diverse young Ireland, harried by racism, exploitation, and lack of opportunity, battling with itself for itself. His great skill is to carry us along so completely and so confidently, and his affection for his characters is infectious. I’m hoping against hope that these kids will be alright. It could go either way.’ KEITH RIDGWAY

‘Youth is a tour de force. A vital novel that embraces the tender vulnerability and brutality of adolescence. Curran vividly captures the lives of Irish young people trying to figure out who they are and what they want with evocative and edgy prose. Stunning. A must read.’ OLIVIA FITZSIMONS

‘Vibrant and immersive – it captures brilliantly the fragile confidence that lies at the heart of youth culture.’ RÓNÁN HESSION

PRAISE FOR PREVIOUS WORK

‘Kevin Curran’s twenty-first century ... is a thrilling dispatch from life lived amid the ruins of idealism.’ ROB DOYLE

‘Kevin Curran ... [writes] with confidence and brio.’ COLIN BARRETT

‘“The isolation of whole communities can be glimpsed through stories of marginalised individuals.” Kevin Curran exemplifies this idea.’ SALLY ROONEY

‘[Curran has] some big things to say about Ireland, past and present.’ SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

‘Brings an edge of hard-won resolve to his tale while keeping mindful of broader social issues.’ SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

‘A writer of real perception and sensitivity.’ IRISH INDEPENDENT

‘Razor-sharp contemporary cultural commentary.’ HOT PRESS

Cover design by Niall McCormack | Photograph by Tobi Isaac-Irein 

Host or Publisher The Lilliput Press