4.5 for this delightful, magical debut!!! I just loved these characters, especially Mahony, who had been raised in an orphanage, comes to the Irish village Muldering from Dublin to find out about his mother's disappearance or death shortly after he was born.

One day, a young Irish man comes sauntering into the town of Mulderrig, and he's on a mission. You see, Mahony, was born in this town but was raised in an orphanage. While living in Dublin, he recently learned that his mother disappeared in this town. The town folk think he's a gobshite. Well, just the men. The women think he's dreamy, handsome with dark eyes and long hair, in need of a bath. Let's just say when he arrives, all h*ll breaks loose.Most of the town do not want him here. Especially

I think this is a no-go for me. Something about it, though a mystery, though set in Ireland, though occasionally populated with ghosts, just failed to catch my attention. It could be me, certainly. But I'll also throw out there that it just seems a touch... Irish. ™ I work with a man from Ireland, and it's been more than a bit fascinating to watch how white Americans interact with him. Because Americans aren't shy about claiming Irish heritage (although it's the jocular kind, for whatever that m...

Himself started off with a bang and kept me engaged until the very end!Abandoned in a Dublin orphanage as a baby, Mahony, now aged twenty-six, receives a letter left for him long ago that hints he might not have been abandoned after all. Returning to the remote coastal town of Mulderrig, in search of the raw truth about his mother, a profoundly complicated past rises and the local ghosts come out to greet him, giving the story an otherworldly spin. Jess Kidd’s rollicking debut is chock-full of m...

This is a beguiling, dark atmospheric and wondrous literary read interwoven with the supernatural and the fantastical. It is a stunning debut from Jess Kidd that draws the reader into what is a spellbinding read. A dark fairytale brimming with folklore, humour and flawless comic touches. For me, it called to mind the talented Kevin Barry and other Irish writers, past and present. The past gives us Orla's story and the present in the 1970s focuses on Mahony, her son. It begins with the murder of

He sees dead people.Yowza! Yowza! Yowza!If ever a book could grab my attention right from the first page, it was this one!For a very long time, I have yearned for an author like Jess Kidd to appear: the ghosts of Dylan Thomas, Gabriel García Márquez and James Joyce must surely have come to roost in her beautiful, mischievous mind.This magical, vengeful story reconnected me with my Irishness and might possibly have brought my dear departed mother, Kathleen, scurrying to read it over my shoulder (...

''The dead are like cats, Mahony. You of all people should know that. They don't always come when they're called.'' I added Jess Kidd's book when I first saw its deliciously creepy front cover and the striking title. It had all the right ingredients: Ireland during the 70s, magical realism, dry humour, gothic hints. When the lovely Goodreads Ireland group members chose it for our quarterly read, it was a perfect opportunity for me to start reading. Plus, it came highly recommended by my good

4.5 Magical and delightful, was not at all ready to leave this small Irish town nor these wonderful characters. Mahoney, raised in an orphanage, come to Murdering to uncover the truth about the young mother he never knew. He creates quite a stir with his Byronic good looks, sets hearts a quivering, but not all because many in this place are holding secrets and one is a murderer. He meets some amazing characters, willing to help him with his quest: the old Mrs., Cauley, who was quite a stage sens...

I'd rate this 4.5 stars."Mulderrig is a place like no other. Here the colors are a little bit brighter and the sky is a little bit wider. Here the trees are as old as the mountains and a clear river runs into the sea. People are born to live and stay and die here. They don't want to go. Why would they when all the roads that lead to Mulderrig are downhill so that leaving is uphill all the way?"Mulderrig is a small Irish village, a Brigadoon of sorts. One spring day in 1976, Mahony arrives in Mul...

This book is going straight onto my shelf of favourite reads. I think I will put it next to Lincoln in the Bardo because the ghosts inside their pages have so much in common, and because both books just struck a chord in me and made for such great reading.In Himself we meet Mahoney, 26 years old, charismatic, very good looking and able to charm even ghosts with just a wink. What he does to the female population of Mulderrig, a small town in County Mayo Ireland, is amazing:) I am pretty sure he h...

5 Stars.Bewitching, Mysterious and Whimsical. “Himself” by Jess is a spellbinding fairytale that intertwines the magical with the supernatural. Its dark whimsy draws you in with its brilliance.Mahoney returns to Mulderrig, on Ireland’s coast, as it’s the place of his birth. He was raised in an orphanage in Dublin and never knew his mother, having always thought he was abandoned. As a young adult, he is given a photograph of his mother and him and discovers that he wasn’t abandoned after all and

4.5 stars rounded upA very quirky novel, Jess Kidd has a distinctive style that is difficult to describe. The tone and language were everything in this novel. The humor lightened up what is a serious murder mystery and brought in much needed levity. The language and descriptions oozes charm. And the characters were delightful! I absolutely loved the scene where books saved a character’s life - it may just be my favorite scene in the entire book, and you will just have to read it to find out how

So I really want to read Jess Kidd's latest novel, Things in Jars. Like, REALLY want to read it. But I don't have it.Yet.So to hold myself over, I decided to read Kidd's first novel, Himself, instead.And -- I loved it. Like, REALLY LOVED it.Himself, at its core, is a mystery. But it's also so much more than that.It's a charming, magical tale-- one that is filled with warmth, humor, and a touch of romance. Kidd's writing is stellar. She is extremely skilled at capturing the emotion of a scene in

I seem to be on a kick for reading books which take place in Ireland lately. Not that I’m saying that’s a bad thing, but it’s amusing that after reading The Heart's invisible furies, my mind seemed much more well-put-together for this particular book. The two don’t share much else in common, but honestly, the charm of Irish writing is more than enough to keep me paying attention.And Kidd definitely knows how to tell a story.I thought this novel had all the things I like in a book such as Irish f...

That was a grand reading... Himself is a most magical novel with a perfect mystery behind it. If this is a debut, it is an astounding one and the bar set by the readers for Jess Kid's next books is rather high. I was engrossed by the writing style and the ambience of an Irish town and the woods.

In a forest dark and deep, the murmuring trees keep their own counsel.  They know everything, as do the bees.  Mulderrig, Ireland.  Where sleep conjures dreams of screaming eels and snapping dentures.  Beware of spiteful wells, flying spiders, and meddlesome winds.  Note the creeping shadow who has a taste for religious paraphernalia.  You are about to enter a world of tricky knickers and wigs that tilt askew at alarming angles.  'Be still.  The dead are drawing in.'  The dead, wanting to be see...

Norma and I were lost in the magical lush coulee with two of our Traveling Sisters reading Himself.  At times we were hidden in the bushes looking over our shoulders for the supernatural who were wanting to find us and tell us their secrets.Himself starts off dark and violent and left us wanting to stay hidden in those magical bushes to hide from the dark but soon humor is introduced into the story to lighten the darkness of this story. Jess Kidd does a good job balancing the dark with some ligh...