Publication
CANONGATE BOOKS (2007), Edition: New Ed, 336 pages
Original publication date
2006
Collections
Genres
Subjects
Awards
Booker Prize (Longlist — 2006)
Women's Prize for Fiction (Longlist — 2007)
Hawthornden Prize (2007)
Encore Award (Winner — 2007)
Description
John Egan is a misfit, a twelve-year-old in the body of a grown man with the voice of a giant. He has been able to detect lies for as long as he can remember and diligently keeps track of them, large and small, in a log of lies. With an obsession for the Guinness Book of World Records, a keenly inquisitive mind, and a kind of faith, John is like a tuning fork, sensitive to the vibrations within himself and his family's shifting dynamics. From his changing voice, body, and psyche to his parents' disheartening marital difficulties, this is a trying year in a fragile young boy's life, and when his sanity reaches near collapse, a frightening family catastrophe threatens to ruin what little they have.
User reviews
LibraryThing member miss_read
This book could easily be described as the story of a misfit boy in 1970s Ireland, but it's so much more than that. Twelve-year-old John Egan's mind is slowly unraveling, and the book takes him from an odd, quirky child to a dangerous threat. However, as the reader I never saw him as a danger. His
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voice is written so well and so believably that I almost felt myself understanding his actions. At the beginning, I certainly understood his obsession with the Guinness Book of Records and his passion for fame and 'Truth' -- in a world that was so unstable (family, community, etc.), he was searching for order everywhere and searching for a way to stand out from the others. In the end, it's John's insistence on truth which leads to the breakdown of his family, as his quest for order results in the complete opposite. There were faint undertones of an incestuous relationship between John and his mother, but nothing ever materialised there. Perhaps it was just intended to show yet another facet of yet another peculiar relationship in the life of a disturbed child. John's mind becomes more and more unglued as the book progresses, and his ultimate act is frightening and horrific. In spite of this, I couldn't help but sympathize with John. Hyland's writing is spare and beautiful, and John's narrative shows very painfully his helplessness in a powerful adult world. Show Less
LibraryThing member piefuchs
Very well written and strangely alluring. Though at first I was annoyed, by the end, I found the adolescent narrator well represented the moments when you bridge the world between child and adult, simultaneously filled with childish and adult thoughts and feelings yet unable to distinguish between
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the two. The adult characters, and the situation they are willing to put a child into, are painfully real. Show Less
LibraryThing member gwendolyndawson
Eleven-year-old John Egan is nearly six feet tall, and he feels like a freak, especially after he wets himself in class. John also believes he is a gifted human lie detector, and his obsession is to be famous and to have his gift recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records. This child's naive
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first-person, present-tense narrative highlights his helplessness in a powerful adult world. When his family moves to the public-housing projects in Dublin, a brutal street gang poses a tangible threat, but the real threat is much closer to home. The quiet plain scenes of John's daily life lead to a surprising and unforgettable climax. This is a captivating book and a masterful glance into the heart and mind of a child. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
I really enjoyed M.J. Hyland's first book, How the Light Gets In. Finally, a female version of Holden Caulfield. So, I was excited to see this second novel on the shelf.
I wasn't disappointed. This is the story of an eleven year old boy who has a gift for detecting lies. Like many children, he has
I wasn't disappointed. This is the story of an eleven year old boy who has a gift for detecting lies. Like many children, he has
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to cope with the problems of his parents, even though he doesn't really understand them. I think Ms. Hyland is very wise in her knowledge of how chilidren think. She is a very talented writer, and I am happy to disccover she is writing a third novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member peterannis
A book, location, plot and story with a a lot of potential, this kept me reading until the end. However, having reached the end I am not entirely sure that the destination was worth the voyage.
LibraryThing member heather77
Well-written book. I couldn't put it down - really wanted to see how it ended. Some pretty disturbing content.
LibraryThing member michaeldwebb
How on earth did this get short listed for the Booker prize? Its main selling point seems to be an obsession with bodily functions. Characters piss themselves, shit themselves, throw up, stink, have bad breath, get diarrhea etc. Did I really want to read about that? No. OK, so it's written from a
Maybe that's what got the book noticed? It's pretty ordinary really (ignoring the above), a fairly standard childhood from a child's point of view - this time growing up in Ireland. Can't really recommend this at all, apart from that fact it's short and easy to read so you won't waste too much of your life on it.
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child's perspective, and maybe those are supposed to be childhood obsessions. But still, honestly, was it really necessary? Maybe that's what got the book noticed? It's pretty ordinary really (ignoring the above), a fairly standard childhood from a child's point of view - this time growing up in Ireland. Can't really recommend this at all, apart from that fact it's short and easy to read so you won't waste too much of your life on it.
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LibraryThing member coolmama
THIS was Booker nominated?
Odd John Egan, almost 6' tall at age eleven. Half man-half boy, and no-one, most of all his parents; know what to do with him or even understand his immaturity despite his large size. The book is totally told from his point of view.
He is convinced that he is a human "lie
After a family arguement, his father and rest of family are kicked out and live in temporary housing in a poverty stricken housing development in Dublin.
While there, his mother sinks into a deep depression, and John slowly self-combusts. Life proves much hardly in a seedy Dublin on a housing estate where John must fend for himself.
Book seems to love to bring intense detail to every bodily function. Lots of dream-like sequences: some sort of Oedipel thing going on with John/mother; did he mean to suffocate her with the pillow, and why is his father so unattached from his son? Also, no mention of time frame - this book takes place in the late 60's or early '70s.
Odd John Egan, almost 6' tall at age eleven. Half man-half boy, and no-one, most of all his parents; know what to do with him or even understand his immaturity despite his large size. The book is totally told from his point of view.
He is convinced that he is a human "lie
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detector" - he is obsessed with the Guniness Book of Records, and has a rather sad family life. As an only child, they all live in their grandmother's in rural Ireland. His father chooses not to work, instead, spends three years to study for the exams to get into Trinity College. After a family arguement, his father and rest of family are kicked out and live in temporary housing in a poverty stricken housing development in Dublin.
While there, his mother sinks into a deep depression, and John slowly self-combusts. Life proves much hardly in a seedy Dublin on a housing estate where John must fend for himself.
Book seems to love to bring intense detail to every bodily function. Lots of dream-like sequences: some sort of Oedipel thing going on with John/mother; did he mean to suffocate her with the pillow, and why is his father so unattached from his son? Also, no mention of time frame - this book takes place in the late 60's or early '70s.
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LibraryThing member TurboBookSnob
Carry Me Down is the story of a twelve-year-old boy named John Egan. He lives in Ireland in his grandmother's house with his mother and father. His father has quit his job, and is studying for the entrance exam at Trinity College . John is obsessed with the Guinness Book of World Records, and wants
Hyland writes a compelling narrative. This is definitely a page-turner, and the reader is able to identify with John up until the novel's shocking conclusion. There is something missing, however, some elegance of writing style or profound statement on humanity that renders the book unmemorable. It will be interesting to see what Hyland can do to enhance her storytelling skills in the future.
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more than anything to be in it. When he notices a physical manifestation in his body when someone lies to him, he thinks he could make it into the book as the first human lie detector. John pursues truth relentlessly in his quest to get into the book, at the risk of damaging his relationships with friends and family. The book follows John's quest through his parents' marital problems, his father's rift with his grandmother, and through their reduced circumstances after his grandmother kicks them out – leading up to a terrible, and somewhat implausible solution. Hyland writes a compelling narrative. This is definitely a page-turner, and the reader is able to identify with John up until the novel's shocking conclusion. There is something missing, however, some elegance of writing style or profound statement on humanity that renders the book unmemorable. It will be interesting to see what Hyland can do to enhance her storytelling skills in the future.
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LibraryThing member tronella
This didn't go the way I thought it would, and it ended up being one of those books where I dislike all the characters too much to really care what happens to them and so lose interest in the plot, I'm afraid. Kind of similar to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, but more irritating.
LibraryThing member cmeatto
John Egan is a precocious young Irish Lad and our narrator. Harry Potter, except, nobody selected him for Wizard school. The angst of his lower middle class life and insights into the human condition are spun in beautiful, sparse, rich prose. The author, an Irish woman born in London and law
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educated in Australia, was a Mann Booker Prize Finalist in 2006 for this effort. Show Less
LibraryThing member nocto
I'm in two minds about this book. The first half didn't have much going for it apart from some understatedly nice writing and a slightly loopy child narrator. The second half was still clearly written and got more eventful but the events were almost too much for the writing. I'm not really sure
It's another book up for the Booker. (The "Man Booker Prize" as it's being called in a sort of over sponsored way - I think Booker were very clever to sponsor it for so long that their successor sponsors had to keep their name in use or nobody would know what they were on about! Either that or not very clever for sponsoring it for so long that nobody realised that the book prize was related to the cash & carry people.) Anyway, asides aside, I wouldn't back it over either St Aubyn or Grenville to win the prize, but what do I know?
Oh, and I never understood the title, or how it related to the story, which is a bit odd.
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what I made of the whole. It's another book up for the Booker. (The "Man Booker Prize" as it's being called in a sort of over sponsored way - I think Booker were very clever to sponsor it for so long that their successor sponsors had to keep their name in use or nobody would know what they were on about! Either that or not very clever for sponsoring it for so long that nobody realised that the book prize was related to the cash & carry people.) Anyway, asides aside, I wouldn't back it over either St Aubyn or Grenville to win the prize, but what do I know?
Oh, and I never understood the title, or how it related to the story, which is a bit odd.
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LibraryThing member Alirambles
I didn't get this one. The first 120 pages were spent establishing that 1) John Egan is big for eleven. Really big. 2) John's parents are freaked out by how big he is 3) John is sad because he parents don't treat him like a little boy anymore. 4) John is interested in detecting lies.
Once those
Once those
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things are established (i.e., pummelled through the reader's skull) through a variety of rather repetitive scenes, there's a plot shift, which at first feels interesting because finally something's happening! or, well, almost happening. Then I got vicariously addicted to meth via Nic Sheff's "Tweak," after which I was (barely) able to stomach the rest of "Carry Me Down." Show Less
LibraryThing member rosietypewriter
Very clever, touching, emotional book full of twists, turns and interesting characters. Could not put this book down until I'd finished it. Good ending too but not in the usual sense - definitely food for thought, this is a book that's lingered with me for a few months now.
LibraryThing member flydodofly
A life-like close up of a downward journey of a family, brilliantly observed by a boy with highly sensitive antennae and voiced in his not-so-subtle inward and outward cries. It gave me the creeps all the way, as I gingerly turned the pages, expecting terrible, unspeakable things. I felt like
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someone peering through a keyhole or gaping at a traffic accident, not too happy to see what is front of me, but compelled to do so. Show Less
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
The best thing about this book was its narrator John, an overly tall 11-year-old who eats sandwiches pretty much constantly, and who believes himself to be an infallible lie-detector. The author cleverly retreats into the background and allows the voice of her protagonist, with his many
Impressive too was John's mother: despite this being a first-person narrative what comes across is someone on the edge, struggling against circumstances and the fact she has a child who doesn't fit within the normal distribution.
A somewhat robust and unconventional anti-bullying policy is depicted at John's school - depending on one's sensibilities it provokes cringing or cheering. I'm afraid I was cheering.
There is work for the reader to do: how much is John's behaviour caused by the upheavals in his family, the tendency for people to think he is older than he is; how much is down to his own personality? Is he weird or are all kids like that? How reliable a narrator is he? In the end it is an opportunity for the reader to test their own lie detection skills.
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eccentricities and insecurities, take centre stage. It's a great piece of writing. One minute I was admiring the measured way John handles bullying, and the next I was thinking: crikey, this is one disturbed kid.Impressive too was John's mother: despite this being a first-person narrative what comes across is someone on the edge, struggling against circumstances and the fact she has a child who doesn't fit within the normal distribution.
A somewhat robust and unconventional anti-bullying policy is depicted at John's school - depending on one's sensibilities it provokes cringing or cheering. I'm afraid I was cheering.
There is work for the reader to do: how much is John's behaviour caused by the upheavals in his family, the tendency for people to think he is older than he is; how much is down to his own personality? Is he weird or are all kids like that? How reliable a narrator is he? In the end it is an opportunity for the reader to test their own lie detection skills.
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
The book was written in 2006 by Hyland, a female author born in London of Irish parents. She was born in 1968 so that makes her 38 at the time she wrote this book. Maybe she was influenced by Edna O'Brien's book. The story is of an 11 year old soon to be 12 boy who lives with his father, mother and
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grandmother in Gorey, Ireland. He is different than other children. John Egan is big for his age. He is an only child and he is fascinated with the Guinness Book of World Records and would like to visit Niagara. I thought the book was interesting. I found it engaging and easy to read. The flawed characters were interesting. The short bits of reading helped make the reading go fast. I do think the author may have overdid the freudian stuff and that in 1970's there might have been less emphasis on Freudian and more on interpersonal and family relationships so perhaps her psychological stuff was a bit off. Asperger's really wasn't the thing then either but the character of John sure was more autistic spectrum. I suppose he really was just neurotic because his parents were a mess. I think the author failed to develop some points of the story. I thought page 100, "My head, as though filled with helium has nothing in it to carry me down to rest, to dark, down to sleep. " (referring to the title) never got fully developed. *****potential spoiler**** Yet, in the scene where the mother can't sleep, John is seen trying to assist his mother to the dark, down to sleep.****spoiler over***** I give the story 3.5 stars. I think that I will remember this story. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
I was expecting to like this book more as it is set in Ireland and was read by Gerard Doyle who has a terrific Irish accent. It was shortlisted for the Booker in 2006 and won the Hawthornden Prize (a literature prize for imaginative writing by a writer under 41). Nevertheless, the young boy in a
John is twelve years old but big in stature. He is an only child and, when the book starts, John, his mother and his father are living with the father's mother in Gorey. The grandmother invited the family into her house when the father lost his job some years ago. John is obsessed by the Guiness Book of Records, poring over each year's edition for hours. He wants to get into the book and he figures his best chance is with his gift for lie detection. He hones his skill for lie detecting by closely observing his parents who he catches in a number of "white lies". When a physical altercation ensues between the father and grandmother John and his parents have to move to Dublin. They get a flat in a large project which has gangs and drugs and prostitutes. John's mother slides into depression and his father spends the little money that he earns on bookies, liquor and the prostitutes who live upstairs. John catches his father lying about where he has been and tells his mother. She demands her husband leave which is very upsetting to John even though John is much closer to his mother than his father. John has something like a mental breakdown and tries to kill his mother. As a result the family get back together and move back to Gorey. Probably they will all live happily ever after
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man's body, John Egan, who is the unreliable narrator of the book. was mostly annoying and sometimes repulsive to me. The following contains spoilers. Show Less
LibraryThing member mckmueller
little boy, grandma, parents, English countryside
LibraryThing member birdy47
I enjoyed this book. A good, quick, easy read with a sympathetic lead character. I did get quite frustrated with his parent's behaviour though.
LibraryThing member stveggy
I really enjoyed this book - wonderfully written through the eyes of a child growing up with dysfunctional parents in a number of countries in Africa - many of which were in the middle of a civil war
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
1841959065 / 9781841959061
Physical description
336 p.; 5.12 inches
Pages
336