Kala

A Novel

By: Colin Walsh

Narrated by: Frank Blake, Moe Dunford, Seána Kerslake

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR NPR, THE GUARDIAN, THE INDEPENT, THE TABLET, AND CRIMEREADS • A gripping literary work from a rising Irish talent in which former friends, estranged for twenty years, reckon with the terrifying events of the summer that changed their lives.

"[A] gritty heartbreaker of a thriller…a spectacular read for Donna Tartt and Tana French fans."—Kirkus

“A master class in building suspense…Walsh manages a deft balance between adolescent angst and ecstasy—discoveries bringing horror, sorrow and joy—and the more deliberate, often elegiac reflections of adulthood, reckoning with the promises of the past.”—The Washington Post

In the seaside town of Kinlough, on Ireland’s west coast, three old friends are thrown together for the first time in years. They—Helen, Joe, and Mush—were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lanann as their group’s white-hot center. Soon after that summer’s peak, Kala disappeared without a trace.

Now it’s fifteen years later: Helen has reluctantly returned to Ireland for her father’s wedding; Joe is a world-famous musician, newly back in town; and Mush has never left, too scared to venture beyond the counter of his mother’s café.

But human remains have been discovered in the woods. Two more girls have gone missing. And as past and present begin to collide, the estranged friends are forced to confront their own complicity in the events that led to Kala’s disappearance.

Against the backdrop of a town suffocating on its own secrets, in a story that builds from a smolder to a stunning climax, Kala brilliantly examines the sometimes brutal costs of belonging, as well as the battle in the human heart between vengeance and forgiveness, despair and redemption.

©2023 Colin Walsh (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 AND A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR BY ELECTRIC LITERATURE

“Even after you put the pieces together, you’ll want to stay with this powerful meditation of the power of fear and the meaning of bravery.”—NPR

"[A] gritty heartbreaker of a thriller…Part heartfelt coming-of-age tale, part brutal Irish noir, this is a spectacular read for Donna Tartt and Tana French fans."—Kirkus, starred review

"Kala hits its mark: it’s a beautiful and taut work of prose."—Electric Literature

Good Story

This is a good story about life-long friends in a small Irish town. It is reminiscent of a Tana French story but without the finesse.
it all seems to revolve around a dog fighting ring run by some of the local men and local thugs. The existence of this enterprise leads to tragedy...and not just for the dogs.
There is too much long-winded conversation without much resolution until the end...when it never seems to be completely resolved. More precision here would have improved the narrative.
The narration is ok, but you must listen very closely as the accents are very thick.

If Tana French had known real people

Her novels might have sounded like this. Yes, it's too long. No doubt 100 or more pages might have been edited. But the characters have a reality to them and the multiple voices are beautifully expressed.

Fabulous read

The best book I have read so far this year. I loved the twists and turns.

Gripping

Absolutely gripping.
A good solid storyline. Narration is great. Really transported me back to teenage years.

Tedious reading

I found it difficult to get interested in the story. The narrators were often hard to understand and jumped from character to character too much. The ending was abrupt and a bit confusing

First-rate in every way!

This is my first book by Colin Walsh and I will be looking for any I've missed. Mr. Walsh doesn't just use words to put down steps in a story...he also makes the trip exciting, frightening, and heart-warming. The characters were very real to me, with in-depth personalities. Their search for identity in adolescence is told in first-person singular chapters, and then the story flashes back and forth in time as they deal with a death that has haunted them for decades. NOT TO MENTION: the readers are fantastic! You can tell which character is speaking and how s/he is processing each stage of the story.

Great writing, deeply depressing story

What an excellent writer. Performances were also quite good. Despite finding the story deeply depressing and not enjoyable personally, I saw it through to the end. I did find the introspection of several of the characters to be worthwhile.

Good

The interwoven lives of these well-drawn characters interacting in their teen years, and then again in their 30s holds interest. It needs more editing, the pacing could’ve been tighter. Some may feel underwhelmed by the ending, but the crimes depicted are more realistic than many stories that go over the top for dramatic punch.

The mystery, the diverse group of characters, the Irish slang!

Held my interest the whole way through.
Didn’t guess the ending till it was revealed

Good story but too drawn out

Character and plot development were good, but there was too much irrelevant detail that, for me, diluted the storyline.