{"product_id":"shibby-magee-an-irish-tragicomedy-9798992235111","title":"Shibby Magee: An Irish Tragicomedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA vanished mother. A fractured family. A lifetime of choosing the wrong men.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen their bold, brassy mother disappears after revealing she was born into Ireland's Traveller community, Shibby Magee and her twin sister Dorah are left behind in a family already cracking at the seams. Under the iron rule of their rigidly bigoted grandmother, the girls grow up on opposite tracks: Dorah, defiant and arrogant; Shibby, bruised and unmoored.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs an adult, Shibby is drawn to men who abuse or discard her, trapped in patterns she can't yet see. She finds a measure of stability in the chaos of a restaurant kitchen, yet the pull of her mother's heritage-and the question of where she truly belongs-remain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout, Shibby's life is colored by an unforgettable cast of characters: Benny, her emotionally distant father; Alice Duffy, the housekeeper and surrogate mother; Moochie de Barra, Benny's sidekick; and Kitty Dooley, who embodies the fierce pride and harsh realities of Traveller life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRich with texture and lyrical rhythm, this novel traces how early abandonment echoes into midlife, revealing what endures, what shifts, and how patterns repeat until the cycle finally breaks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the tradition of \u003cem\u003eThe Bee Sting\u003c\/em\u003e by Paul Murray, \u003cem\u003eSmall Things Like These\u003c\/em\u003e by Claire Keegan, \u003cem\u003eTrespasses\u003c\/em\u003e by Louise Kennedy, and \u003cem\u003eThe Queen of Dirt Island\u003c\/em\u003e by Donal Ryan, \u003cem\u003eShibby Magee\u003c\/em\u003e is a warm yet incisive work of literary fiction portraying a woman shaped by loss, grief, and social prejudice as she struggles toward dignity, love, and self-possession.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Corbyn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798992235111\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.68d","brand":"Carrie Kabak","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52934064636085,"sku":"9798992235111","price":14.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_6c28ef09-d93b-4c66-a496-b66824fe8705.jpg?v=1785910988","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/shibby-magee-an-irish-tragicomedy-9798992235111","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}