Juno & Juliet: A Novel [Paperback]

Julian Gough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2002

With this irresistibly fresh debut about a set of twins in their first year of college in Ireland, Julian Gough ("Roddy Doyle in an extremely good mood." —The Washington Post Book World) has established himself as Ireland's most delightful new voice in fiction.
Juno and Juliet Taylor are both beautiful blondes, but Juliet is convinced that Juno is the more beautiful, as well as the more intelligent, charming, worldly, and wise. Yet neither feels any sense of rivalry, which is good, given that their freshman year turns out to be more than either could handle alone. Juno has an erratic artist for a boyfriend and is stalked by a pervert who sends anonymous letters. And Juliet is in love with her grad-student tutor, who is stymied by her youth and preoccupied with his dying father. Hilarious and tender, ribald and smart, Juno & Juliet is a refreshing romp with two sisters whose love and devotion are infectious.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This winning debut novel from Irishman Gough chronicles the first year of university for the eponymous pair of identical twins as they progress from innocence to experience in Galway, on the westernmost point of Europe. Juliet, the more reserved and less star-crossed of the two, narrates their year. As students, they fill their days with theater, drinking and dating, not to mention reading and, perhaps most dramatically, thinking. Gough has managed to create characters unusual in the annals of campus novels they are neither adolescent buffoons nor inhumanly pretentious. The supporting characters, including a charismatic actor, a drunken playwright, another set of twins this time a pair of well-meaning criminals and a shy young literature professor, are as vivid as the two principals. The plot centerpiece, involving a set of mysterious, threatening letters, is somewhat threadbare, and the narrative is more purposefully carried along by the frequently funny and always skillfully told episodes recounting minor everyday dilemmas. Galway, with its intimate scale and moody weather, is a character in its own right. The author writes appreciatively of the city, as if the world outside this midsized, seaside Irish town didn't exist. The non-Dublin urban setting, rarely captured in Irish novels though now central to the life of the country, is an important and original choice. Gough's novel is a genuine and generous portrayal of a place and its inhabitants, and with it he takes his place as part of a younger generation of comedic Irish novelists including Joseph O'Connor and Anne Enright who are becoming better known on these shores. (July 17)Forecast: Marketed as one of Doubleday's Fiction for the Rest of Us titles, the book will get a big push from the publisher. This, coupled with the popularity of Irish writers, should make it a favorite summer handsell.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Beautiful, blonde Irish twin sisters Juno and Juliet Taylor have come from the small town of Tipperary to Galway for their first year of university. Money is tight, and flats are hard to come by, but they persevere. They make friends, attract a stalker, find love, and occasionally go to class. Narrated in intense detail by Juliet, this coming-of-age novel is short on plot but strong on emotion. The minutest details, such as the rain or a painting on the wall, are filled with symbolism, while dramatic events such as betrayal and bad acid trips are quickly forgotten. Struggling to separate herself from the more popular Juno, Juliet comes across insecure and self-absorbed, which may turn some readers off. Yet she is subtly appealing and keeps your attention. This first novel by Galway resident Gough is expected to receive national media attention. The publisher is comparing him to Roddy Doyle. Recommended for most popular collections.
- Karen T. Bilton, Cedar Mill Community Lib., Portland, OR
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (August 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385721617
• ISBN-13: 978-0385721615
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #584,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julian was born in London, raised in Tipperary, and educated in Galway. In answer to your most frequently asked question: Gough rhymes with cough. He lives in Berlin, drinks coffee, writes books, steals pigs, and sleeps late. Lately he likes to poke at new artforms, but we'll stick to the books here. His most charming novel is Juno & Juliet. His funniest, and oddest (and most prize-winning) novel is Jude: Level 1. It concerns a young Irish orphan with two penises, and his search for true love.

The radio play "The Great Hargeisa Goat Bubble", broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009, introduced a couple of million new and slightly bemused listeners to the world of Jude. It is taken from the second volume of Jude's adventures - Jude in London - which will be published in September 2010.

Jude: Level 1 was shortlisted for the 2008 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, alongside excellent books by Alan Bennett, Will Self, John Walsh, Garrison Keillor and Joe Dunthorne. (Julian highly recommends Alan Bennett's superb The Uncommon Reader.) Will Self won the prestigious prize. However, certain scandalous events subsequently forced Julian to steal Will Self's pig. Let us draw a veil over the entire unsavory incident. (If you really must know more, you wretch, Google any combination of the words "Julian Gough", "Will Self", and "pig".)

In April 2007, Julian won the biggest prize in the world for a single short story, the BBC National Short Story Award, for "The Orphan and the Mob". (Opening line: "If I had urinated immediately after breakfast, the mob would never have burnt down the orphanage.") The story is also the prologue to the genre-mangling Jude: Level 1...

He also, in his youth, wrote the words (and sang) on four albums by the cult Galway group, Toasted Heretic, and had a top-ten hit in Ireland with "Galway and Los Angeles", a song about not kissing Sinead O'Connor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for a rainy day, August 3, 2001

By 

Katie Reilly (Beaver College, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juno and Juliet (Hardcover)

I loved this book! It was endearing and funny without being trite and contrived, and I literally could not put it down.. I read the whole thing the day I got it. The characters were interesting and likeable, especially Juliet, the narrator, who was a very human (and readable) combination of irritable, funny, loving, and self-conscious. The book almost felt as if I were reading the diary of a friend. I also, having recently spent some time studying at UCC, found it to be a pretty good portrayal of college life in Ireland; Gough's descriptions were great, and his language brought me back there in a way nothing else I have read since has. Overall, I would say this book is fun without sacrificing content, a great read if you want to feel good without turning your mind off.. and, the perfect thing to snuggle up to with a steamy mug of Barry's Tea on a rainy day!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literary twins, March 26, 2003

By 

Jae Brodsky - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juno & Juliet: A Novel (Paperback)

The description on the jacket of Juno and Juliet was what prompted me to read it: "Juno and Juliet Taylor are beautiful Irish twins headed off to Galway for college." For years I've been asked questions about being an identical twin. Normal people seem to be insatiably curious about twins, and those that write about twins pretty much always mess it up. One of pleasant surprises of Juno and Juliet is how much the author does get correct.

Juno and Juliet is propelled forward by Juliet's narrative. She's the "less pretty" and more acerbic and sarcastic twin, and she describes the small problems that are always faced in the first year of college. In terms of action, not much happens until the very end. Everything is driven by Juliet's thoughts on the people and events that surround her. This book is more than just a character development, but has even less suspense than a Jane Austen novel. The pleasure comes from Juliet's voice as the year unfolds. The author has created a character who feels very real, someone who is a thinking person without giving up other parts of her personality such as humor and wit, which seems to happen far too often in other books.

The weakest part of the book is the final discovery and fight at the end, where a one-dimensional character doesn't develop into anything more. It's surprising considering how well the author describes even the smaller supporting characters, and is somewhat jarring. But for me, Juliet more than makes up for it. Her interactions with Juno, and thoughts afterwards, are some of the best writing about twins that I've ever come across. The author understands that twins are two separate people. Juliet doesn't always understand Juno's actions. Needless to say, they also can't communicate telepathically.

This book is not lighthearted, but it is funny and uplifting enough in parts that it also isn't heavy. I didn't think that it was pretensious given that the narrator is only eighteen, and obviously has some teen angst to work through. I also am not sure what one of the reviewers is complaining about when she says that the author missed some obvious "female functions". What this book really describes is a real story about growing up, which doesn't stop when the school year ends. We know that Juno and Juliet's growth continues past where we leave them. And as an added bonus, people can now feel what it's like to have a twin.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For anyone who's gone to school & found themselves in love., January 7, 2003

By 

Abraham H. Silverman "Abe" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Juno & Juliet: A Novel (Paperback)

Such a lovely book! Delicate and extremely powerful for such a small little package. Reminds me a lot of Gail Tsukiyama's work, with a rather spartan literary style that just blows you away. I can't wait to read more!