The Speckled People

Hugo Hamilton was born and grew up in Dublin. He is the author of five highly acclaimed novels: 'Surrogate City', 'The Last Shot' and 'The Love Test' (Faber); 'Headbanger' and 'Sad Bastard' (Secker); and one collection of short stories. He has worked as a writer-in-residence at many leading universities, including most recently at Trinity College, Dublin. He has just returned to Ireland from a DAAD scholarship in Berlin.

'A wonderful book ! thoughtful and compelling, smart and original, beautifully written ! Hamilton has done an awful lot more with his strange and oddly beautiful childhood than just write it down.' Nick Hornby, Sunday Times 'This story about a battle over language and defeat 'in the language wars' is also a victory for eloquent writing, crafty and cunning in its apparent simplicity.' Hermione Lee, Guardian 'Early as it is to risk a judgment, it is hard to believe that this year will produce many books as memorable or moving as this.' Roy Foster, The Times 'An extraordinary achievement ! a wonderful, subtle, problematic and humane book. It is about Ireland as well as about a particular family, but it is also about alternatives and complexities anywhere. It is about the speckled nature of the world, which, for all its violence, remains fresh to its perceivers.' George Szirtes, Irish Times 'The Speckled People is poetic in its language and construction, lyrical in so many of its descriptions. There is a story full of several different kinds of passion with a real tragedy at its heart. The pain is all there, but so is its antidote.' Margaret Forster 'Donner und Blitzen! What the Jaysus! A memoir of warmth and wisdom. And at last a good -- if flawed -- Irish father. A beautiful German mother. And not too much rain. It is tender and profound and, best of all, tells the truth. I loved it.' Patrick McCabe 'A fine and timely book from an exquisitely gifted writer, this is beautiful, subtle, unflashy, perfectly realised and quite extraordinarily powerful.' Joseph O'Connor

'A wonderful book ... thoughtful and compelling, smart and original, beautifully written ... Hamilton has done an awful lot more with his strange and oddly beautiful childhood than just write it down.'
Nick Hornby, Sunday Times

'This story about a battle over language and defeat 'in the language wars' is also a victory for eloquent writing, crafty and cunning in its apparent simplicity.'
Hermione Lee, Guardian

'Early as it is to risk a judgment, it is hard to believe that this year will produce many books as memorable or moving as this.'
Roy Foster, The Times