Room for a Single Lady [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Clare Boylan (Author), Niamh Cusack (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

Dublin in the 1950s. To Eugene, girls are like money - they have to be saved. His three young daughters seem doomed to a Victorian girlhood, that is until a stranger comes to lodge in their house. From the author of THAT BAD WOMAN.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A sharp eye for detail that makes reading Boylan's work such a pleasure' SUNDAY TIMES 'This enchanting book, so evocative of the moods and sensations of childhood has the bite of pure gold' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Witty ... beautifully written' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Boylan writes like an angel, but an angel with a knowing eye' DAILY MAIL 'Love, pain and Dickensian dottiness. As ever, Boylan is like the sun coming out.' SPEACTATOR 'An enormously entertaining and involving novel.' IRISH TIMES 'This is lemon-eyed and luscious writing, subtle, oblique, poetic, hilarious, absolutely original. But the talent for local colour, that vivid image, the quirky ear, the olfactory evocativeness, is merely how she approaches the proper concern of the top-class prose writer- an intesne and insatiable curiosity about the lives of other people.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'As 1950s Dublin slowly moves away from ghastly fashions, tight perms and rigid conduct towards a brighter, freer society, Boylan's prose captures the transition perfectly.' NEW WOMAN 'Boylan has captured the harsh process of growing up- its misunderstandings and sense of irredeemably arrested development- with deadly accuracy.' TIME OUT 'Boylan spins her fable with graceful realism, and is painfully good on the horrors and resiliences of loneliness.' GUARDIAN --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

"Clare Boylan was the author of five novels and three volumes of short stories. Her last novel, ROOM FOR A SINGLE LADY, was published by Little, Brown in September 1997. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754002667
• ISBN-13: 978-0754002666
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Irish Struggle--This Time With a Bit of Fun, April 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Room for a Single Lady (Audio Cassette)

I bought ROOM FOR A SINGLE LADY in a downtown Dublin bookstore for my "airplane read" back to the United States. It was a great choice and marvelous entertainment. It is a tale of family survival, both financial and social in depressed 1950's Ireland. Oh no, not another tale of making it through the Irish childhood and adolescence. Well there is always room for one more for us grandchildren of the old sod and this one had a bit more laghter than tears. To improve dwindling monetary circustances the Rafferty's of Dublin decide to take in a border--a genteel single lady who not only can contribute to the family's finances but can introduce their three daughters to some of society's better refinements. The border concept turns into a revolving door of various lovable, wacky, entertaining characters who bring great change and insight to the entire Rafferty family. From serious, sad Selena with her caring ways, to glamorous, trashy Sissy, to Ruth, the Communist, and Minnie Mankivitz, frugal and sensible, yet blind when it comes to men, the Rafferty's lives wind through complex delightful dramas! Seen through the eyes of Rose, the youngest daughter, ROOM FOR A SINGLE LADY details the effects of sharing one's home with strangers, and how one family grew thanks to the laughter, tears, anger, and wacky fun that resulted from letting out the spare room to these most bizarre group of women. This tale is not as dramatic as ANGELA'S ASHES or as angry as A STAR NAMED HENRY but is a delightful and entertaining saga of some uproarious days in the life of an Irish family!