ARC Review Book Review

ARC Book Review | Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen

Title: Big Girl, Small Town
Author: Michelle Gallen 
Genre: Fiction
Published On: December 1, 2020
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Source: physical
Pages: 320

Synopsis:

Meet Majella O’Neill, a heroine like no other, in this captivating Irish debut that has been called Milkman meets Derry Girls.

Majella is happiest out of the spotlight, away from her neighbors’ stares and the gossips of the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up just after the Troubles. She lives a quiet life caring for her alcoholic mother, working in the local chip shop, watching the regular customers come and go. She wears the same clothes each day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, microwaved at home after her shift ends), and binge-watches old DVDs of the same show (Dallas, best show on TV) from the comfort of her bed. 

But underneath Majella’s seemingly ordinary life are the facts that she doesn’t know where her father is and that every person in her town has been changed by the lingering divide between Protestants and Catholics. When Majella’s predictable existence is upended by the death of her granny, she comes to realize there may be more to life than the gossips of Aghybogey, the pub, and the chip shop. In fact, there just may be a whole big world outside her small town. 

Told in a highly original voice, with a captivating heroine readers will love and root for, Big Girl, Small Town will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, and accessible literary fiction with an edge. 

My thoughts

(Spoiler free)

Big Girl, Small Town is darkly humorous and satisfyingly odd. While the writing style and the heavy Irish dialect take some getting used to, it’s easy to follow and makes the story (and characters) come alive!*

The reader gets to spend a week with Majella, a twenty-something girl who unknowingly falls somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Her life revolves around cleaning up after her alcoholic mother, binge-watching old episodes of Dallas, and working evenings frying up food at the local chip shop. But while her life appears ordinary at first, we slowly discover Majella grew up during the Troubles, her father has disappeared, and now her grandmother has died. She’s doing her best to make it from day to day, but it’s hard when she doesn’t like change and doesn’t like Other People. 

“Sometimes Majella thought that she should condense her whole list of things she wasn’t keen on into a single item:

• Other People.”

Michelle Gallen; Big Girl, Small Town

The novel is broken down into days and within each day are sections headed by the time and an item off of Majella’s list of things she likes or dislikes. I enjoyed the titles, finding most of them humorous and somehow a hint of what was to come within that section. It also made it easy to jump right back into the story each time I picked the book up.

“8.43 a.m. Item 3.7: Noise: Stuff smashing

It was the sound of a cup or a plate smashing that woke Majella.”

Michelle Gallen; Big Girl, Small Town

We get to know the locals by their predictable visits to the chip shop every night, their stories weaving in with Majella’s past. She relies on their repetition—even though she dreads most of the exchanges—taking notice when someone doesn’t show up. It’s in these small exchanges that Gallen shines, her characters fully realized and entertaining. 

By the end of the book, I was rooting for Majella to find her way out of this repetitious life leading her down the same path as her mother. While all the questions aren’t answered, I was still left satisfied, grasping on to the hint of optimistic hope the author provides. If you’re a fan of quirky characters and glimpses into a day-in-the-life sort of story in a setting different than your own, I highly recommend Big Girl, Small Town.

*I did discover a dialect glossary on the author’s website while working on this post. If only I’d found it sooner! 🙂

Thank you to Algonquin Books for providing me with an advance reader’s copy.

(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)

Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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About the Author

Michelle Gallen
Michelle Gallen

Michelle Gallen was born in Tyrone in the 1970s and grew up during the Troubles a few miles from the British border in Ireland. She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin and Publishing at Stirling University. She has been published in the Stinging Fly, Mslexia and other publications, and won the Orange/NW short story award.

AUTHOR PHOTO CREDIT: Deci Gallen

In the News

  • Michelle Gallen shared an essay within the book club kit on her website about her experience growing up during the Troubles and what inspired Big Girl, Small Town.
  • Big Girl Small Town has been optioned to be adapted for tv!

A Song For A Book

On Bookstagram I created a hashtag for when I include a song that reminds me of the book I’m sharing, #ASongForABook, I thought I’d make it a regular feature on my reviews, too.

The song I’ve chosen for Big Girl, Small Town seems almost too obvious, and I admit as an American, it’s basically the first band I think of when I think of Irish bands. But the lyrics are just too fitting and Dolores O’Riordan’s soulful sound perfectly captures the feeling of the novel. Especially her repetitive “does anyone care?” at the end of the song.

Do you see me, do you see?
Do you like me
Do you like me standing there?
Do you notice, do you know
Do you see me, do you see me?
Does anyone care?

Have you read Big Girl, Small Town? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!

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