The Crocodile by the Door The Story of a House, a Farm and a Family

Something close to a small masterpiece ... enchanting and hopeful Miranda Seymour Daily Telegraph

Something close to a small masterpiece ... enchanting and hopeful -- Miranda Seymour Daily Telegraph A surprisingly entertaining primer on the travails of farming today, from ungovernable sheep to unfathomable bureaucracy; a fascinating glimpse of what had become of the Anglo-Irish by the late 20th centuryand into the 21st; an elegant modern pastoral and, at the same time, an astute dismantling of that genre; and a meditation on the meaning of labour, and on how hard work shapes identity as well as achievement... A remarkable book -- Belinda McKeon Guardian Guinness is an astute observer and stylish chronicler of landscape, architecture and human character. ... she describes her domestic setbacks and achievements with engaging candour. Irish Times A very fine writer with a lovely turn of phrase ... Stories need adversity and the overcoming of obstacles and The Crocodile by the Door has plenty Spectator A memoir so exceptional that it deserves to be ranked as the Irish Book of the Year Irish Independent Beautifully wrought ... The book is rich in beautiful imagery ... This is the story of bringing a landscape to life, and it is glorious Evening Herald Astutely chronicling the wider story of Ireland's downfall through the prism of the farming life, Guinness's book is the unexpected hit of the year Sunday Business Post