Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. To order a copy for £7.64 go to or call 03. Himself by Jess Kidd is published by Canongate (£8.99). Jess Kidd Himself Audio CD 493 ratings See all formats and editions Hardcover 8.19 8 Used from 8.19 1 New from 99.74 Paperback 14.49 8 Used from 7.60 9 New from 8.80 Language English Publisher Whole Story Audio Books Dimensions 6.54 x 1.1 x 5. Kidd hasn’t quite found a method of knitting all these different things together in a satisfying way, but the novel fizzes with potential. Read 1,813 reviews from the worlds largest community for readers. As a portrait of village hypocrisy and the dark things that lurk beneath the surface, it’s also compelling. There’s simply too much going on and focus is lost.Īs a noirish thriller with a supernatural edge, Himself is atmospheric and intriguing. Loading Details & Specs Title: Himself: A Novel Format: Paperback Product dimensions: 384 pages, 8.25 X 5.31 X 1 in Shipping dimensions: 384 pages, 8.25 X 5. But the story becomes rather baggy and tangled in its middle section. Jess Kidd is the award-winning author of The Night Ship, Himself, Mr. A mysterious and charming young man returns to the remote coastal village of Mulderrig, seeking answers about the mother who, it was said, had abandoned him on the steps of a Dublin orphanage. She hops nimbly between timelines and has imagination to spare. Himself is a gem of a book, a darkly comic mystery, and a beautiful tribute to the magic of language. There’s a good deal of wit and some sparkling dialogue as Kidd sketches in the village’s inhabitants. Mahony’s story is told in tandem with Orla’s, the teenage girl destined to meet a messy end in the forest.

They are always with him and his world is full of ghost-girls and transparent animals, bodies dangling from the branches of trees with their necks stretched out of shape. Himself by Jess Kidd Paperback (Reprint) 17.00 Paperback 17.00 eBook 13.99 Audiobook 0. Like the child in The Sixth Sense, Mahony can see the dead. The novel’s greatest strength is the way Kidd’s writing slides between humour and horror.