The Queen of Dirt Island

A Novel

By: Donal Ryan

Narrated by: Emma Lowe

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

“From its opening pages, this book exerts a quiet, propulsive hold over its reader. The three generations of Aylward women will break your heart and then put it back together again.”–Maggie O'Farrell

"This is a generous mosaic of a novel about the staying power of love and pride and history and family."–Colum McCann, author of Apeirogon and Let The Great World Spin

From the multi-award-winning and internationally bestselling author Donal Ryan, a searing, jubilant story about four generations of women and fierce love

The Aylward women of Nenagh, Tipperary, are mad about each other, but you wouldn’t always think it. You’d have to know them to know that—in spite of what the neighbors might say about raised voices and dramatic scenes—their house is a place of peace, filled with love, a refuge from the sadness and cruelty of the world.

Their story begins at an end and ends at a beginning. It involves wives and widows, gunrunners and gougers, sinners and saints. It’s a story of terrible betrayals and fierce loyalties, of isolation and togetherness, of transgression, forgiveness, desire, and love. Of all the things family can be and all the things it sometimes isn’t. The Queen of Dirt Island is an uplifting celebration of fierce, loyal love and the powerful stories that bind generations together.

©2023 Donal Ryan (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“If language — lyric, lovely and funny, steeped in County Tipperary — and women (men come and go, rarely center a chapter and are often useless, sometimes cruel) are of no interest to you, The Queen of Dirt Island is not your next read. Ryan’s book is a celebration, in an embroidered, unrestrained, joyful, aphoristic and sometimes profane style, of both . . . The Queen of Dirt Island gives the women their due, and the reader is rewarded.” -- Amy Bloom, The New York Times Book Review

“Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island is a little Irish miracle . . . there’s as much implicit wisdom in these pages about how to live as how to write . . . Ryan has his own emotional range and a way of capturing the largeness of what look like tiny lives but aren’t . . .” -- The Washington Post

“As for Mr. Ryan’s treatment of Saoirse: I do not know of another male writer who has so perfectly captured the experiences and thoughts of a woman as he has. Saoirse’s shades of emotion and thought are poignantly true to life, recognizable, and perfectly conveyed. Further, as we have come to expect from Mr. Ryan, this very fine novel concludes on a note of sweetness and, also, in this case, triumph.” -- Wall Street Journal

Beautiful Prose and Such Believable Characters

It isn't often one finds a writer of this calibre... a master storyteller and writer. Just amazing how he describes the thoughts and actions of these three strong woman. Uplifting and at times heartbreaking but magical nonetheless~ such a worthy read/listen.

poetic and excellent character development.

The author is adept at writing for male and female characters. He also tells stories poetically. excellent! Will read his other works.

An Irish story

Wonderful story about an Irish family and their struggles. It makes me want to read more by the author.

Would Recommend.

Brilliant rendering of three generations of Irish women. I loved it. 🥰I may read it again.

The power of relationships

Beautiful and moving. Rylan has an amazing gift for storytelling. The performance really helped bring all the characters to life.

Perfect book for audible!

This book was so rich in dialogue between the two matriarchs in the family. Loved the funny back-and-forth between the two. Had me laughing much of the time. Wonderful story about family and love.

Authentic

Very interesting the way the author captures the times. Relationships were colorful and so was the language!

Great Performance

Loved hearing my beloved and dead friend’s Irish cadence and expressions in this lovely novel.

Gentle wonder

Excellent narration brings alive the gentle melody of the characters — despite the f-bombs that occasionally fly in “Queen.” An underlying sense of unconditional acceptance and the longing for love and forgiveness permeates the story and is amplified by the author’s soft prose. Characters from Ryan’s other stories briefly enter the story like cherished family.
Highly recommend.

Very hard to follow story

It is sometimes difficult to understand the narrator. The story timeline jumps around so much it is hard to follow the plot of so many characters.