The Lesser Bohemians

A Novel

By: Eimear McBride

Narrated by: Eimear McBride

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

The breathtaking new novel from Eimear McBride about an extraordinary, all-consuming love affair.

One night an 18-year-old Irish girl, recently arrived in London to attend drama school, meets an older man - a well-regarded actor in his own right. While she is naive and thrilled by life in the big city, he is haunted by more than a few demons, and the clamorous relationship that ensues risks undoing them both.

A captivating story of passion and innocence, joy and discovery, set against the vibrant atmosphere of 1990s London over the course of a single year, The Lesser Bohemians glows with the eddies and anxieties of growing up and the transformative intensity of a powerful new love.

Winner of the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction
Shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award
Shortlisted for the 2016 Goldsmiths Prize
Shortlisted for the 2016 Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards Eason Novel of the Year

©2016 Eimear McBride (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Eimear McBride was an actor before she was a writer. Her novels, especially as performed by her, are breathtakingly effective both as literature and as theater.... This is gorgeous, heartbreaking work." ( AudioFile)

Love and sex in London

Any additional comments?

Some sort-of spoilers below.

This audiobook is read by the author. It is like a mash-up of Shakespeare and Beckett, with language that is rhythmic, rhyming, and allusive. I just started so not far in, but the language is so beautiful, in the service of youth and art...

*****

This book is largely about sex and love, and the ways they intersect or don't. It's also about the sexual initiation of a young woman, newly arrived in London to go to acting school. The author writes about sex explicitly and poetically throughout--this might not be to every reader's liking. These are not fade-to-black sexual scenes; but McBride's writing in this regard is bold and sensitive--not like anything I've read before. Still, from my vantage point, it sometimes seems like a distant land and I wanted to wring the necks of those youngsters, for their lack of perspective and undaunted pursuit of their desires. But then again I was one once.

The central love story is counterpointed by experiences in the main characters' childhoods of disturbed love from adults, as well as by the dogged and responsible love a father feels for his daughter. The relationships all echo and reflect, and there are dawning awarenesses from several characters. McBride writes her protagonist's inner voice in the allusive and fragmentary style I mentioned above. It is beautiful and I didn't get lost in it, mainly I think because of the author's beautiful reading (I think this is a great book to listen to). Later, when the main character's lover tells the story of his youth, she switches to a more straightforward narrative, which serves his revelations well and makes they all the more powerful because of the unornamented language. Further, the characters remain nameless throughout much of the book--and only the two main characters ever acquire names. When the first name slipped in, I had to rewind to be sure of what I'd heard. Finally, the protagonist names the second character is a direct address to him. This whole thing, the naming, was perhaps what I loved most about the book. It was so powerful, the names making them "be" in a new way that was touching and made the trajectory of their relationship all the more coherent.

Took a little while to get hooked

What did you love best about The Lesser Bohemians?

The language seemed pretentious at first and was distracting, but t hen there were beautiful passages and descriptions once I got used to it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Lesser Bohemians?

The author is gifted at making everyday life come alive and taking you to a very specific place and time.

Have you listened to any of Eimear McBride’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There are revelations about the past lives of the characters which are painful but moving.

Any additional comments?

It fascinates me that this starts out very much a story of the first person female narrator who has a very moving story - yet the book ends up really being about the life of the man she is involved with. I would like to have heard more of the woman's story - however it is as if being in her mind with her she can't be self conscious enough to tell her story.

Beautiful Poetic Style; Failed Characters

As a romance the story fails because the characters, their decisions and actions are not believable. The erotic language is effective to a point, but still there are problems. It seems the narrative follows the growth of Eily's sexual and emotional self awareness, but I felt this conflicted with the natural intimacy of the locus of the narrative.

I guess, as is often, the streaming words of consciousness ask as many questions as they answer as a device for delivering narrative. Placed hard against gobs of exposition through ranting dialogue weakens this story stylistically.

McBride is gifted with language and​ I'm sure she'll write a masterpiece, but this ain't it. Joyce? Not yet.